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EXONERATED - Julie Coram proven Drug Free 2008: Thank you to my supporters! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- July 20/08 PRESS STATEMENT: On Monday, June 23rd, only three weeks after capturing the 2008 Miss Fitness Manitoba title amid a claim that she tested positive for several banned substances following her victory at the Ainsley McSorley FAME Model Search Championships, Julie Coram was subjected to an impromptu drug test by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES), the testing body responsible for administering drug testing under the Canadian BodyBuilding Federation’s (CBBF) anti-doping program. The results are in, and Ms. Coram tested negative for all prohibited methods and substances. “We are grateful that the CBBF subjected Julie Coram to a prompt, fair and reliable drug test,” said Rick Collins, an authority in the field of doping legalities and Ms. Coram’s lawyer. “The results were not at all surprising to us. She tested absolutely clean – she had no traces whatsoever of any banned substances in her sample. Julie has been exonerated.” Collins said that the result is particularly significant because the testing protocol of CBBF is stricter and more sophisticated than the test that FAME conducted. It is also significant in light of the substances that Julie was alleged to have tested positive for, which included a metabolite of a horse steroid that is reportedly detectable for up to five months. The CBBF result casts serious doubt on credibility of the FAME test. World renowned doping control expert Dr. Mauro DiPasquale, who was not involved in the case but read the media coverage of Ms. Coram’s alleged positive test, commented: “Inferior drug testing protocols can yield inaccurate results; however, the reliability of the CCES drug testing protocol is in line with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which is considered the gold standard for drug testing.” “Hopefully, Julie’s CCES results may encourage FAME to re-examine its anti-doping protocols and bring them up to the standards of other organizations so that true dopers can be caught and rightfully punished but innocent athletes are not ensnared,” said Mr. Collins. Meanwhile, Julie Coram is relieved that the CBBF has given her the opportunity to clear her name, and wishes to thank her many supporters who believed in her all along.
June 23/08 PRESS STATEMENT: Julie Coram has hired the law firm of Collins, McDonald & Gann to defend her rights in a dispute over a questionable drug test administered at the FAME Model Search Championship in May. The New York based firm concentrates on legal issues surrounding physique athletes and has extensive experience in drug testing cases. “We are reviewing the drug testing program and procedures available online to athletes who compete in the World Natural Sports Organization’s FAME competition,” said firm partner Rick Collins, “and are not finding any of the safeguards that other sports federations have implemented to protect their athletes and ensure the integrity of the testing specimen and the reliability of the results.” Organizations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have anti-doping rules that are in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and the Canadian BodyBuilding Federation follows the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) in their anti-doping program. These organizations have strict protocols for collecting and processing specimens that are not only intended to ensure the integrity of the sample but to protect the rights of their athletes. The collection process is highly controlled and specific; the chain of custody is carefully recorded; only accredited labs are used to ensure the reliability of the testing; the specimens are divided into two samples, labeled “A” and “B”, and in the case of an Adverse Analytical Finding in the “A” sample, the athlete is notified and given the option to have the “B” sample tested to safeguard against an erroneously positive result. To further protect the athlete’s rights and ensure transparency to the process, the athlete is notified and given the right to be present for the opening and analysis of the “B” sample. “These organizations understand that the reputational dangers associated with falsely accusing an athlete of doping are grave,” said Collins, McDonald & Gann attorney Michael J. DiMaggio. “The World Natural Sports Organization (WNSO) program, however, appears to have taken absolutely no steps to protect the rights of the athletes who are accused. Instead, WNSO immediately reveals the results to the mass media, robbing athletes of the barest minimum due process and privacy rights. Elite amateur organizations like the IOC, CBBF and IFBB could hardly take these results seriously. We’re just beginning to look at the facts of this case but our initial examination reveals a testing process that is so vague and lacking in controls that the results are profoundly suspect. We haven’t been provided with the requisite documents concerning Julie’s test, despite her request, and publicized accounts of the analysis have been inconsistent even as to what substances they claim she tested positive for.” “Fair and credible anti-doping programs benefit clean athletes and should be applauded,” stated Rick Collins. “But if you’re going to undertake to do drug testing, do it right.”
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