Portuguese teenager Gustavo de Almeida Madureira has received a warning from the disciplinary board of Portuguese Swimming after testing positive for a banned substance at November’s Portuguese Club National Championships.
The positive test came for the banned substance Terbutaline, which is a fast-acting bronco-dialator that expands the airway to allow for uninhibited respiration, and is often used as a short-term “rescue inhalant” for asthma patients. It is banned by the World Anti-Doping Code, except in such cases where a Theraputic Use Exemption is obtained prior to the positive tests (in other words, unless it’s medically necessary).
Madureira did not have a Theraputic Use Exemption for his “Briconyl Turbohaler” (locally known as “the bomb”) at the time of the test, but was able to show documentation that he had suffered from asthma from birth. After a bout with the flu the week before the championships, he was using the inhaler as a part of his doctor-prescribed treatment.
Seeing that Madureira had a clean record, and on the basis that he applied for and received a Theraputic Use Exemption between the time of the positive test and the handing out of discipline in March, the committee decided that a warning, along with invalidation of results, was the proper punishment.
The 17-year old is a very good sprint freestyle prospect for the Portuguese, with long course best times of 23.64 and 53.04, both done since this punishment was handed out, in the 50 and 100 frees.