The Breno Faria case: a four-year suspension for recommending a cream with a banned substance to another athlete
Athlete and nutritionist admitted to USADA that he gave the product to a training partner before the 2014 Worlds
Breno Faria was suspended for four years for an anti-doping rule violation. A Jiu-Jitsu athlete and nutritionist from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, he voluntarily admitted to USADA, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, that he gave a fellow athlete, a friend and training partner, a topical cream containing a banned substance and encouraged him to use it before the 2014 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. Faria was 34 when the sanction was announced.
According to the agency, the recommendation led the athlete to test positive for testosterone. That athlete accepted a one-year suspension.
Why he was sanctioned
USADA noted that Faria was not working in a professional capacity when he recommended the cream to his friend, but he was acting in an athlete support role. That made him subject to the World Anti-Doping Code sanctions for support personnel who administer banned substances, which range from a four-year suspension to a lifetime ban.
The sanction
The sanction was announced on May 18, 2016. Given his voluntary admission, the agency found four years to be the appropriate outcome, counted from February 7, 2015, the date he disclosed the case to USADA. His own results since May 28, 2014, the day Worlds began, were disqualified, with forfeiture of medals, points and prizes. The IBJJF agreed to impose the sanction.
At the IBJJF’s request, USADA ran testing at the 2014 Worlds. The details are in the statement published by the agency.
