American high jumper Inika McPherson banned after testing positive for doping

American high jumper Inika McPherson was banned for 16 months by the American Arbitration Association after testing positive for the banned substance furosemide. This is the second penalty for doping in the career of the athlete, who compete at Rio 2016 Olympics.

Inika McPherson, 36, tested positive for the substance, which is used to reduce the detection of some doping agents such as anabolic steroids, on June 3 last year in an out-of-competition sample.

The suspension is also enforced by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and removes all of her results and awards from the period.

Inika McPherson claimed her offense resulted from using a prescription for a prescription drug she believed was an authorized anti-inflammatory drug.

Her pleas were accepted and so the sentence was reduced from two years to 16 months. McPherson’s sentence is retroactive to July 22, 2022.

This is not the first time McPherson has been involved in a doping scandal. At the 2014 USA Track and Field Championships, she tested positive for benzoylecgonine.