Saids chief says Dlodlo doping results were delayed because of sensitive testing process

South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (Saids) chief executive officer Khalid Galant said the specialised nature of testing for testosterone played a role in sprinter Thando Dlodlo being suspended and subsequently banned later than he should have.

It emerged on Wednesday that Dlodlo's positive doping test will see the South African 4x100m relay team lose their hard-earned gold medal from the World Relay Championships.

Galant said Dlodlo was able to compete until his results came back, which meant that in the period when he tested on 16 April until he was notified and later suspended on 29 June, he was able to compete.

"With testosterone that Dlodlo tested positive for, it becomes complicated because it must go for specialised testing," Galant said.

"Sometimes, it must go overseas and that could add on another month or two. We got the results back in late June and we informed him on 29 June.

"From that date, he was provisionally suspended, so between April and June, he didn't know he tested positive so he could compete.

"That's why he competed in the World Relay Championships. It's the results process that held him back and competed on the assumption of being negative."

Galant said the turn-around times for drug tests were generally quick enough to ensure those who passed theirs weren't held in unnecessary suspense.

However, positive tests required further examination to ensure that mistakes were not made.

"If it's a negative result, we get the result back in about 10 to 14 working days. If it's a positive result, it'll take another week or two depending on the substance," Galant said.

"You have to do confirmations and it's a serious issue when someone tests positive. There's also the confirmation analysis that goes into