Spencer Smith (Britain's former World Champion triathlete) has been finally cleared of doping allegations (involving the banned steroid nandrolone) by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, following a hearing last week in New York. This is the culmination of a 17 month battle to clear his name following a routine test at the October 1998 Hawaii Ironman race.

Speaking from his training base in Spain, Smith reacted to the news

"It's a fantastic feeling to have proved my innocence. But I've had to do that now at three separate hearings so it's been a difficult time for me and my family. Now I can get on with my life without carrying this huge burden on my shoulders. It's difficult to shake off the stigma of such an allegation but I've won all three rounds of my fight so I feel totally vindicated."

Smith had been placed 5th at the Hawaii event. Then in November 1998 he was told by his own federation the British Triathlon Association (BTA) that tests carried out at the IOC accredited laboratory in Los Angeles had shown up traces of the prohibited substance nandrolone. There has been a dramatic increase in reported nandrolone positive results in a number of sports, particularly athletics. An independent BTA disciplinary panel cleared Smith in March 1999, saying that there was no case for him to answer due to lack of evidence. The USAT, the body which had sanctioned the 1999 Hawaii race, appealed to the appeals board of the sport's world governing body, the International Triathlon Union (ITU), but the appeal was rejected in September 1999, due to the lack of key scientific evidence from the lab. The ITU and USAT took the case on appeal again, this time to the ultimate appeals court, the CAS, based in Switzerland. After a lengthy hearing last Tuesday (March 21) in New York the CAS Panel rejected the latest USAT appeal. The panel's reasons for its decision have not yet been published.

The panel comprised US attorney Carolyn Witherspoon, German lawyer Dr Christian Krahe and was chaired by Canadian judge, the Hon. Hugh Fraser. Smith was accompanied by his manager, Robert Burnell, and was represented by his London based lawyer, Tony Morton-Hooper of Mishcon de Reya. Morton-Hooper worked closely with Burnell on Smith's defence strategy and had successfully argued the case for Smith at the previous two hearings.

Burnell added

"The ITU and USAT kept saying they wanted all the evidence to be heard and they were confident it seemed of victory. But when all the evidence was produced it just underlined all the errors and mistakes in the whole testing process. At the hearing before the CAS it was revealed by the lab director Dr Don Catlin that a mistake had been made in some vital calculations, a mistake apparently not noticed until the last minute. Spencer has had a rough time of it. It's always difficult to find the proof when you maintain your innocence because you're up against powerful and politically motivated bodies who run the sport. It was very clear to me that ITU Secretary General Mark Sisson, in the face of the evidence, was pushing hard for Spencer to be banned but he's been shown to be wrong. The way he's handled things I think he should be now be considering his own position. Steve Locke, USAT's Executive Director, didn't even turn up at the hearing which tells me he was Sisson's puppet in all this - so he needs to think again about the USAT's hounding of Spencer. The sport needs to be run by people who are above personal grudges. The rules are tough (and rightly so) but every man and woman is entitled to a fair treatment when accused of something as serious as this. They shouldn't become the subject of a witch-hunt by powerful governing bodies. However Spencer can hold his head up now and get on with his career. There's no good reason to keep him out of the Olympics - and that's been part of the problem because he's a real contender and I'm sure there were plenty of people who wanted him out of the way."

Spencer acknowledged the support he had received from Burnell (who he nicknames the Boltman), Morton-Hooper, from his mother Barbara, wife Melissa, all his UK and US based family, Jenny Burnell, sponsors*, also Stuart Fish, Paula-Newby Frazer, Paul Huddle, the Linda McCartney team and the many people who wrote in with their encouragement.

*Sponsors: Met-Rx, Saucony, Speedo Europe, Speedo US, Speclized, Zipp Wheels.

For further information please contact Tony Morton-Hooper of Mishcon de Reya, 21 Southampton Row, London WC1B 5HS, Tel: 0171 440 7000, Fax: 0171 404 2376