rugby players among athletes who have tested positive for a banned stimulant

The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority has found four rugby league players are among athletes who have tested positive for a banned stimulant.

Nine sports players have returned positive tests for methylhexaneamine, also called dimethylamylamine or DMAA – a substance commonly found in body-building and dieting supplements.

All the players that tested positive face a two-year ban from playing their sport after taking the drug that is in many party drugs and body building supplements.

A National Rugby League spokesman said yesterday four players – two from reserve grade (the NSW Cup), one from the Sydney metropolitan competition (Bundaberg Red Cup) and another from the national under-20 premiership – had tested positive for DMAA.

The anti-doping authority has not released what other sports may be involved in the doping problem.

Senior league identities said they would be stunned if the substance had been consumed by elite players but When you look at the types of athletes who have tested positive for this in the past, they are from a wide range of sports and style of players.