Gary Pert

 by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA

Young Magpie duo Lachlan Keeffe and Josh Thomas still are not completely sure how the banned steroid clenbuterol got into their systems, but believe the illegal drugs they took during what they called "a night out" were laced with the banned steroid. While accepting responsibility for their actions at a press conference on August 10, they stressed they did not knowingly take the performance enhancing drug. They have accepted two year bans as well as a $50,000 fine each. With the provisional suspension being handed down last March after the first positive test was returned, the pair will be eligible to return in the 2017 season.

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Magpies Lachlan Keeffe and Josh Thomas, provisionally suspended since March after returning positive drug tests in February, have been issued with infraction notices by ASADA and will be required to face the Anti-Doping Tribunal. No date has been set for that hearing as yet. The pair tested positive for clenbuterol, a powerful steroid used medicinally to treat breathing conditions such as asthma. However it can also be used to boost metabolic rates to burn fat and is thus considered a performance enhancing drug. The steroid is also used by veterinarians to treat horses. Although banned in most countries for use on food animals, some countries still use it. There are documented cases of people eating meats contaminated with the drug. There are also many cases of athletes around the world who have tested positive to it. Some have been banned while others have been acquitted. Many claimed to have eaten tainted meats. During the hearings which investigated rampant drug use in American baseball several years ago, clenbuterol was one of the drugs named.