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Springbok flyhalf Elton Jantjies has received a four-year ban from rugby following his suspension for the use of a prohibited substance.

The 33-year-old rugby player was banned from rugby after testing positive for Clenbuterol, which is described as a fat-burning and asthma medication that also enhances stamina. It is used by many bodybuilders to lose weight and produce muscle.

Daily Maverick reports that the 2019 Rugby World Cup winner first tested positive for Clenbuterol back in August 2023.

 

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A post shared by Elton Jantjies (@eltonjantjies)

In his statement from that moment, the former Lions No 10 denied knowingly taking the medication and vowed to prove he was not doping.

“At this stage, I can say little more about the matter, save that I assure all my supporters that I have not and never will deliberately take a banned substance, and that I will do everything in my power to prove my innocence,” he said at the time.

Then, on Thursday, the South African Institute for Drug Free Sport (SAIDS) confirmed on its website that Jantjies had been banned for four years, per News24:

Khalid Galant, SAIDS CEO, further confirmed the sanction to News24, adding that the window for any potential appeal from Jantjies had now lapsed.

The four years handed to Jantjies is the maximum punishment that can be imposed for testing positive for a substance such as Clenbuterol.

 

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A post shared by Elton Jantjies (@eltonjantjies)

This potentially career-ending development is perhaps the cherry on top of a couple of tumultuous years experienced by the Springbok flyhalf.  A string of controversies have caused him to become one of the most polarising figures in the history of South African rugby.

Remember how Jantjies was arrested and charged with malicious damage to property and a contravention of the Aviation Act after he allegedly lost it on an Emirates flight that landed at OR Tambo International in 2022?

Those charges were dropped but he was back in the headlines in November of the same year when it was alleged that he was having an affair with Springbok team dietician Zeenat Simjee.

While Galant said it was a shame to see someone of Jantjies “stature and influence being sucked in by the abyss of doping”, there is a chance he can bounce back. Take for example Springbok Aphiwe Dyantyi – he also served four years for a doping violation but returned to the field with the Sharks in 2023 after serving his time.

[sources:dailymaverick&news24]