Payne has received a four-year ban from USADA

Demi Payne, photo by Photorun.net

INDIANAPOLIS (USA): US pole vaulter Demi Payne has received a four-year ban from the United States Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for drostanolone and its metabolite, 2α-methyl-5α-androstan-3α-ol-17-one. The positive resulted from a sample given when she jumped 4.85m for third at the US Indoor Championships on 12 March 2016. The delay, said USADA, was due to an investigation following an anonymous tip-off around spikes drinks at the event – eventually ruled by the agency to be unfounded. Payne’s ineligibility began on 31 March 2016, when her provisional suspension began. She was NCAA champion in 2015, the year she competed at the World Championships, and her PB of 4.90m was achieved the month before the positive.