Asafa Powell at the Jamaica Conference Centre earlier this year. - file

Former 100 metres world record holder Asafa Powell will return before the Jamaica Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel today, as the hearing into his June 2013 doping violation continues at the Jamaica Conference Centre.

Powell's samples tested positive for the banned substance Oxilofrine at last year's National Senior Championships at the National Stadium. The Jamaican sprinting star will be hoping that hearings scheduled for today and tomorrow will bring him closer to a resolution.

The sprinter, who was among several witnesses called to give evidence during the first two days of the proceedings, which took place on January 14 and 15, has denied knowingly taking the substance, which, though acceptable out of competition, is banned for usage during competition.

Powell, who, through his legal team headed by Kwame Gordon, had established that the banned substance was found in the product Epiphany D1, which was added to his supplement regimen shortly before his failed test, rejected suggestions of negligence, while giving details of the events following his positive test and admitting that he did not know the World Anti-Doping Agency Code.

Powell's agent Paul Doyle, who introduced Canadian physical therapist Chris Xuereb - the man who allegedly gave the Jamaican sprinter the tainted supplement to Powell - also testified during the last sitting. He defended his decision to hire the Canadian.

Biochemist Wayne McLaughlin, a professor in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies, Mona, and director of Caribbean Toxicology, after conducting tests on two sealed bottles of Epiphany D1, confirmed the property's presence in the supplement and also testified that the Jamaican sprinter did not gain an advantage while competing at the National Championships with Oxilofrine in his system.

andre.lowe@gleanerjm.com