LAST UPDATE | 4 Nov 2020
CYCLIST DALE WALKER has been suspended for four years, with one of those years backdated, after being found guilty of four anti-doping rules violations, Cycling Ireland and Sport Ireland have jointly confirmed.
The 47-year-old won the Irish Masters 40 Road Race Championships in Wexford last September and was tested by doping control immediately following his success.
Per Cycling Ireland and Sport Ireland, his ‘A’ sample tested positive for the banned substances; epioxandrolone, oxandrolone, 18-noroxandrolone and boldenone and/or boldenone metabolite(s), all of which are listed as anabolic agents under S.1.1. of the
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. His ‘B’ sample, tested in December, also tested positive for these same substances.
After almost a year of due process, Walker has been stripped of his 2019 Masters 40 title — with his entire result from last year’s championship disqualified — and has been banned from competitive cycling for four years.
Cycling Ireland have confirmed to The42 that Gareth McCullough, who originally finished second in last year’s Masters 40 road race, has been retrospectively crowned champion. Likewise, original bronze medalist Robin Kelly has been upgraded to silver, while Gordon Boland will receive bronze after being moved up a position from fourth.
An official statement released on behalf of both bodies read: “Cycling Ireland and Sport Ireland today jointly announced that the Irish Sport Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel determined that Dale Walker committed an anti-doping rule violation.
“Dale Walker has been sanctioned by a period of ineligibility of 4 years commencing on the 5th of November 2019. In a doping control test immediately following his participation at the Masters Road Race Championships on the 15th of September 2019, he provided a sample which tested positive for the presence of the following prohibited substances: epioxandrolone, oxandrolone, 18-noroxandrolone and boldenone and/or boldenone metabolite(s). Mr. Walker’s results from the 15th of September 2019 are also disqualified.
“The hearing was held under Article 8 (Disciplinary Process) of the Irish Anti-Doping Rules and this announcement is made pursuant to Article 15 (Public Disclosure) of the Rules.”
- Updated with confirmation from Cycling Ireland to The42 that Gareth McCullough, Robin Kelly and Gordon Boland will see their finishes at last year’s Irish Masters 40 Road Race Championships upgraded by one position, and each will receive a corresponding new medal.
