After his surprise win at the Ironman North American Championship Texas, Tomás Rodríguez Hernández tested positive for the banned substance Clomifene, a drug that “has the potential effects of boosting or restoring Testosterone production and thus increasing muscle mass,” according to the International Testing Agency (ITA).
According to the ITA, Rodriguez has “been sanctioned with a two year period of ineligibility.”
“Tomás Rodríguez Hernández was under Provisional Suspension and accepted the ADRV and agreed with the Consequences determined by the ITA as per the Ironman ADR, namely a two-year period of Ineligibility as from 6 June 2024 until 5 June 2026 and disqualification of all his competitive results as from 27 April 2024,” the ITA reported in a statement on Sept. 13, 2024.
The two year ban is “the default sanction for an ADRV for the Presence of a specified substance, such as Clomifene,” the statement continued.
In a post on Instagram Rodriguez said he is “accepting the suspension, but not the allegation of doping … Understanding the complexity of the case and my own limitations, I have accepted the two-year sanction to close this chapter in my life.”
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Rodriguez’s two year ban goes from June 6, 2024 to June 5, 2026 and all his competitive results from April 27, 2024 are disqualified. That means that Germany’s Patrick Lange will be named the winner of the race in Texas, with France’s Clement Mignon moved to second and Matthew Marquardt moved to the final spot on the podium.
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