UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) have warned of the dangers of using anabolic agents after a former Barrow player was banned for three years.
Jamie Dallimore picked-up the suspension following an out-of-competition sample was found to contain traces of clenbuterol.
Pay Myhill, UKAD director of operations, said: “Athletes are solely responsible for what goes into their bodies. They should never assume that something is safe to take without checking it first.
“There are potentially damaging side-effects to using anabolic agents such as clenbuterol, not just to an athlete’s career and their sport, but to their own health. It is simply not worth the risk.”
Dallimore, 33, who joined Barrow in 2016, gave a sample taken in October last year after his season had ended and clenbuterol showed-up.
The player said it was from a tablet he had taken before an amateur football game to help boost energy and burn fat. He called it an act of utter stupidity.
Dallimore had actually re-signed for Barrow ahead of the 2022 season before announcing in December he was leaving because of increased work and family commitments.
Previously with Oldham and North Wales Crusaders he was among four nominees last season for the League One Player of the Year.
Because he admitted the offence early and accepted the charge he was banned for three years – from December 16, 2021 to midnight on December 15, 2024.
Dallimore’s ban follows the four year suspension imposed on former Whitehaven skipper Marc Shackley last month. He tested positive for clenbuterol after taking a fat burner to lose weight ahead of knee surgery after he had already announced he was retiring.