The IBJJF confirmed today in a statement that Mica Galvão had failed an anti-doping test made during the IBJJF World Championships last year.
According to the release, the USADA has determined Mica’s positive test was caused by clomiphene, a prohibited substance and after investigation, by a prescription drug under the care of a physician. And although the substance was taken medically, they should have asked for an exemption for therapeutic use, which was not.
Galvao, who became the youngest-ever IBJJF World Champion in 2022, has now been stripped of that title, which will awarded to the lightweight silver medalist, Tye Ruotolo.
Ruotolo now becomes the youngest IBJJF world champion in history.
Galvao’s one-year suspension began on July 22 which means that he will be eligible to return to IBJJF competition in late July this year, after the 2023 IBJJF World Championships.
Up to recently, Mica Galvao was representing Roberto Cyborg Abreu’s Fightsports Academy which was involved in two big doping violations with its leaders Robert Cyborg and Vagner Rocha were suspended for PEDS .
News came out in March 2023 from USADA, as five elite BJJ athletes suffered 3-year suspensions from competing – as a result of testing during and after 2022 No-Gi World Championships.
The news were first delivered by FloGrappling, which stated that Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu, Vagner Rocha, Jose Henrique Cardoso, Jonnatas Gracie, and Igor Feliz have all been suspended.
Here’s the case what happened with Cyborg:
Tested positive for exogenous testosterone and its metabolites as the result of an out-of-competition urine sample collected on December 20, 2022.
He accepted a three-year period of ineligibility that began on January 27, 2023, the date he was provisionally suspended from competition.
The official statement is below:
USADA announced today that Micael Galvão, of São Paulo, Brazil, an athlete in the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, has accepted a one-year suspension for an anti-doping rule violation.
Galvão, 19, tested positive for clomiphene and its metabolite 4-hydroxyclomiphene as the result of an in-competition drug test conducted at the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) World Jiu-Jitsu Championships on June 5, 2022. Although the IBJJF is not a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code (the Code), USADA was contracted by IBJJF to conduct testing for the event and collected and analyzed Galvão’s sample in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s International Standards.
Clomiphene is a Specified Substance in the class of Hormone and Metabolic Modulators and is prohibited at all times under the Code and the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing, which applied with slight modifications, to the 2022 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships.
After a thorough review of the case, including the examination of medical records provided by the athlete, USADA determined that Galvão’s positive test was caused by a medication prescribed in a therapeutic dose under the care of a physician. Although the substance was taken at the direction of a physician, the Code requires that athletes obtain a TUE before using a prohibited substance, which Galvão failed to do.
Galvão’s one-year period of ineligibility began on July 22, 2022, the date his provisional suspension was imposed. In addition, Galvão has been disqualified from all competitive results achieved in competitions sanctioned by the IBJJF, or any Code signatory, on and subsequent to June 5, 2022, the date his positive sample was collected, including forfeiture of any medals, points, and prizes. IBJJF has agreed to impose the sanction.
