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U.S. Track and Field Athlete Alexandria Gochenour Accepts Sanction for Anti-Doping Rule Violation

USADA

Press Release

18th December 2019

USADA announced today that Alexandria (Alex) Gochenour, of Warrensburg, Mo., an athlete in the sport of track and field, has accepted a four-year suspension for an anti-doping rule violation.

Gochenour, 26, tested positive for ostarine as the result of a urine sample collected in-competition at the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships on June 24, 2018.

Ostarine is a non-Specified Substance in the class of Anabolic Agents and is prohibited at all times under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee National Anti-Doping Policies, and the International Association of Athletics Federations Anti-Doping Rules, all of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.

Ostarine, also known as MK-2866 and Enobosarm, is a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) that is illegally sold in the United States and worldwide as a performance-enhancing substance. Ostarine is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); it is not currently available as a prescription medication in any country; and its unauthorized use may carry serious side effects and is a threat to public health https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2664459.

Nonetheless, ostarine has been found as a declared and undeclared ingredient in many dietary supplements sold in the United States, which has prompted the FDA to issue warning letters https://www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/fdainbrief/ucm583021.htm to specific dietary supplement manufacturers stating that ostarine is an unapproved new drug and that selling the drug is in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. More information about the risks of ostarine can be found through a USADA athlete advisory https://www.usada.org/athlete-advisory/growing-evidence-ostarine-athlete-risk/.

Gochenour’s four-year period of ineligibility began on June 24, 2018, the date her positive sample was collected. In addition, Gochenour has been disqualified from competitive results obtained on and subsequent to June 24, 2018, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.

Wednesday, 18 December 2019