AAG: Ghanaian weightlifter fails drug test

Algiers, July 18, GNA - Ghana's Commonwealth gold medalist and the brightest spot in the Ghanaian weightlifting team for a gold medal, Majertie Fetrie sat out of the competition on Wednesday as he was denied participation by the organisers for failing a drug test.

The Ghanaian delegation to the venue of the event, including Chairman of the Weightlifting Association of Ghana, Mr Clifford Aboagye and Dr Joe Aboagye tried fervently to compel the organisers to allow Fetrie to take part in the competition but to no avail.

Ghana cried foul and insisted that no information had been communicated to them even though the African authorities claimed that Fetrie had tested positive for a banned drug as far back as August last year in Morocco. Mr Aboagye said he was surprised at the action of the organisers because if actually Fetrie had tested positive for a banned drug as far back as last year, the African Weightlifting Association was obliged to communicate the result of the test to the Ghana Olympic Committee for the necessary action to be taken.

He said in the case of Fetrie, he had not been informed, only to get to the venue of the competition to be told that he had been banned. Explaining further, Dr Aboagye who is a member of WADA, the world body charged to control the use of drugs in sports said he was surprised at the manner in which Fetrie was disqualified.
He said if Fetrie had been found guilty of drug use, the decision should have been communicated to the athlete and the national association through the National Olympic Committee, in this case the GOC.
Dr Aboagye said the ban would also have specified the number of years the athlete would serve as first offenders are banned for two years while second timers are banned for life.
He said in the case of Fetrie, the rules were not applied and he was not granted the chance to oversee his B sample test, which is usually the case when an athlete disputes the result of the A sample test.
He said based on inconclusive procedures from the African Weightlifting Association, (AWA) he protested to the president Mr Han and the General Secretary, but they stuck to their guns and denied Fetrie the chance to mine gold for Ghana.