American double amputee sprinter Blake Leeper will be eligible to compete in the Paralympics this summer despite being handed a one-year ban for using cocaine, the United States Anti-doping Agency has announced yesterday.
The 25-year-old tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, at the US Paralympic Track and Field national championships in June last year, but his period of eligibility will run only until this June, giving him time to compete in Rio in September’s Games.
Leeper won two medals at the London 2012 Paralympics. He won a silver medal in the T43 400m, behind South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius, and bronze in the T43 200m behind Brazil’s Alan Oliveira.