Dutee’s team to argue IAAF’s conflict of interest

Sabi Hussain

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 18

With the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) all set to reopen Dutee Chand’s hyperandrogenism case, the sprinter’s legal team has been working non-stop to find flaws in the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) research paper on the issue.

The line of defence Dutee’s camp has decided to adopt at the CAS hearing — yet to be scheduled —would be that of challenging the IAAF’s latest findings with charges of conflict of interest and bias.

Their primary objection would be about the conflict of interest on the part of IAAF’s researchers and leading scientists — Stephane Bermon and Pierre-Yves Garnier.

“Bermon was part of the IAAF’s medical and anti-doping commission for many years. Similarly, Garnier is the director of the IAAF’s health and science department. This is a case of conflict of interest since the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was also a party of this research paper. These scientists should have been neutral, but they owe their allegiance to the IAAF. The research paper looks biased,” a member of Dutee’s legal team informed.

While the IAAF funded the research paper, WADA contributed to the findings and provided resources to the two scientists. The research paper has been published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Another finding, which Dutee’s team would be challenging, was that female athletes with high natural testosterone levels have a competitive advantage of 1.8 to 4.5 percent over others. “We checked this finding with our own set of scientists. Nothing of that sort happened with Dutee. Had it been the case, she would have been winning only gold medals in meets,” the member added.

Bermon and Garnier analysed 2127 mass spectrometry-measured serum androgen concentrations obtained from elite athletes participating in the 2011 and 2013 World Championships. Dutee was barred from competing by the Athletics Federation of India in September, 2014. She challenged the decision at the CAS, which overturned it on July 27, 2015.

However, while stating that there was no clear evidence to suggest that Dutee might have benefitted from her enhanced testosterone level, the CAS had gave the IAAF two years to re-approach the Court with more evidences on hyperandrogenism regulations.