Thai wheelchair- racing athlete explains ban for anti-doping violation

Prawat Wahoram, a Thai wheelchair-racing athlete, has posted a clarification after being banned for one year by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for an anti-doping violation. 

He asserted that he had never used banned substances in his entire career, emphasising that the ban resulted from missing testing appointments because of his own oversight.

After the IPC’s one-year ban imposed on Prawat for an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV), he provided an explanation on his personal Facebook account:

"To all, I, Prawat Wahoram, Thai national wheelchair racing athlete, would like to clarify the facts as follows:

“1. Regarding the news, I affirm with honour from over 25 years of service to my country that I have never used any banned substances, in full compliance with IPC anti-doping regulations.

“2. I admit responsibility for missing three tests, of which two instances were due to my own and my family’s negligence in not being present when the testing team arrived. However, I reiterate that, as stated in point 1, I have never used any banned substances.

“3. As for the third missed test, this was not my fault but rather a registration system error, which the IPC has acknowledged as a mistake on their part. I had prepared thoroughly over the last four years and was fully ready to compete in the 2024 Paralympic Games in France to bring pride to Thailand. This situation has brought me immense disappointment and sadness.

"If any members of the press wish to obtain further information, please feel free to contact me. I am willing to provide any details needed," Prawat concluded in his post.

Prawat is a Paralympian athlete who competes in Category T54 wheelchair-racing events. He competed for Thailand in six Paralympic Games from 2000 to 2020 and got a total of seven gold, eight silver, and one bronze medals. He is considered the most successful Thai Paralympic athlete.

Recently, the International Paralympic Committee banned Prawat for a period of one year for committing ADRV, in breach of the IPC Anti-Doping Code.

The sanction was determined after a hearing of the Independent Anti-Doping Tribunal, which has jurisdiction to hear and determine alleged ADRVs under the IPC’s Anti-Doping Code.

The athlete was found to have committed an ADRV pursuant to IPC Anti-Doping Code Article 2.4 of the IPC IF Rules: whereabouts failures by an athlete.

The athlete is part of the IPC Registered Testing Pool. The whereabouts programme requires athletes in the Registered Testing Pool to regularly file details of their location so they can be found at any time for testing. Registered Testing Pool athletes must also specify a one-hour time slot each day in which they will be available for testing at a specified location.

If an athlete fails to record his or her whereabouts correctly or misses a test three times in the space of 12 months, it is considered an ADRV.

Between May 1, 2023, and April 21, 2024, Prawat was notified of one filing failure and two missed tests. The athlete was provisionally suspended by the IPC on July 19 pending a resolution of his case.

As a result of the whereabouts violation, Prawat received a one-year period of Ineligibility from July 19, 2024, to July 18, 2025. All results obtained by the athlete from the date of his third whereabouts failure, April 21, 2024, until the commencement of the provisional suspension are also disqualified, with all resulting consequences, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.