Orange County-based Olympic swimmer Michael Brinegar didn’t race in the preliminaries of the 1,500-meter freestyle Saturday at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis because of a ruling by The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding allegations of doping, according to a statement released by the athlete’s coach.
Brinegar, a 2020 Olympian who trains under coach Mark Schubert at The Swim Team, stated that he has been contesting a notification by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) from last year that his “test results from July, August and September 2022 were proof I was blood doping.” One potential penalty, the 24-year-old Brinegar stated, is a four-year competition ban.
“I am deeply disappointed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling and USADA’s accusations that are utterly unfounded,” Brinegar wrote in a long Instagram post. “Over the last year I’ve been dealing with the most incredible challenge of my life.”
In June 2022, Brinegar said he withdrew from the open water 25K at World Championships in Hungary because of COVID-19.
“USADA suggests I was blood doping during a period when I was not training and when I was recovering from COVID-19,” stated Brinegar, who raced for Tesoro High as a senior in 2018.
“If I contested the finding, I would be subject to a four-year ban, or the ban would be reduced to two years if I did not contest the finding. In addition, if I turned in anyone else, my sentence could be reduced an additional year. I was devastated. But knowing that I had not cheated, I chose to fight.”
Brinegar stated an independent arbitrator ruled in his favor in November 2023 but USADA appealed the decision. Brinegar added he was notified Friday that CAS ruled in favor of USADA and that he could not race Saturday.
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Brinegar was seeded third in the 1,500 freestyle. He raced earlier at the Trials in the preliminaries of the 400 and 800 freestyles and didn’t advance to finals.
After Tesoro High, Brinegar swam at the University of Indiana, the alma mater of his mother and U.S. Olympic swimmer Jennifer Hooker. She raced at the 1976 Olympics dominated by an East German squad powered by a state-orchestrated doping program.
“Cheating is a betrayal of everything I have been taught and stand for,” Brinegar stated. “I will continue to seek justice in this matter.”