U.S. Track & Field Athlete Zach Gehm Accepts Additional Sanction for Violating Period of Ineligibility
Press Release
17th May 2021
USADA announced today that Zach Gehm, of Harmony, Pa., an athlete in the sport of track and field, has accepted an additional three-month sanction for competing while ineligible.
Gehm, 21, initially accepted a two-year period of ineligibility and loss of results in November 2019 after his sample, collected in-competition at the USA Track & Field U20 Outdoor Championships on June 22, 2019, tested positive for a prohibited stimulant. The announcement regarding Gehm’s initial violation can be found here.
Under the terms of his initial sanction, Gehm is prohibited from participating in any capacity in a competition or activity authorized or organized by USA Track & Field, any professional league, any international-level or national-level event organization like the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), or any elite or national-level sporting activity funded by a governmental agency during his period of ineligibility. Gehm participated in NCAA-sanctioned events between January 2020 and March 2020, thereby violating the terms of his sanction.
Upon investigating the circumstances of the violation, USADA concluded that Gehm was operating under the mistaken belief that the terms of his sanction did not prohibit him from participating in NCAA-sanctioned events. USADA concluded that an additional period of ineligibility was warranted, however, because the NCAA is a national-level event organization.
Gehm accepted an additional three-month period of ineligibility, meaning his original two-year period of ineligibility, which began on June 22, 2019, has been increased to a 27-month period of ineligibility.
Global Summit 2024