Asafa, Sherone reach out-of-court settlement with supplement manufacturer

Sprinters Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson have reached an out-of-court settlement with Dynamic Life Nutrition the company that made the supplement Epiphany D1 which contained the banned substance oxilofrine.

The settlement amount has not been disclosed.

Powell and Simpson had sued the company earlier this year after discovering that the  supplement included ingredients that were not listed on the label.

The sprinters took Epiphany D1 as part of their training programme but later found out that the supplement contained oxilofrine, a stimulant which the company did not declare.

As a result, the two Jamaicans were suspended from the sport for six months after the stimulant was found in their system.

"There is no way to really explain the kind of damage a ban has on an athlete’s reputation. For us it was especially painful, because we really let down our countrymen. There’s no doubt that we’re going to continue fight to repair it and regain the trust of my fans and fans of the sport," Powell said.

Powell and Simpson’s management team had Epiphany D1 tested by three independent labs, including the World Anti-Doping Administration (WADA) and the US Federal Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

Both companies found that oxilofrine was present in the supplement.

It has since been placed on the USADA’s high risk supplement list, warning athletes to avoid the product.

Epiphany D1 was also independently tested by Italian law enforcement, who also found the supplement to contain oxilofrine.

In the meantime, Dynamic Life Nutrition has stopped selling the product.

"Both Asafa and I are happy that we were able to settle this out of court. The legal process is tedious, but we don’t think about it when we are on the track. We have a very capable team, and both of us are now extra careful about our diets and supplement regimen," Simpson said.

Sherone Simpson is a three-time Olympian, winning the 4X100M relay gold and silver medals, as well as the 100M silver medal. She is also a World Champion silver medallist in the 4X100M relay and a Commonwealth 200M gold medallist.

Asafa Powell has run the most sub-10 100M times in the recorded history of track and field.

The Commonwealth, World Championship and Olympic medallist has dipped below the 10-second mark 92 times and is also the first Jamaican to win the IAAF Sportsman of the Year.