Padaratz becomes first surfer banned for steroids

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – World-class professional surfer Percy “Neco” Padaratz Jr. has been stripped of his points and banned from competition for the rest of the year after testing positive for steroids, a surfing official said Wednesday.

Padaratz, 29, tested positive for three types of steroids, according to the official. He failed a random drug test conducted last fall at a competition in France, results of which became available in July.

Padaratz acknowledged that he had been using the drugs without a doctor’s supervision to help a back injury, said Robert Gerard of Newport Beach, the rules and discipline judge for the Association of Surfing Professionals.

“Not only is he the first athlete in the history of the sport to test positive for steroids … it is the first time I have had even heard a whisper of any athlete involvement with steroids,” Gerard said.

The anabolic steroids – methyltestosterone, mestanolone and oxymetholone – are performance-enhancing drugs, Gerard said.

Even if they were being used to treat a back problem, that would have given Padaratz an unfair advantage over other surfers who had to skip competitions while their back injuries healed through traditional medical methods, Gerard said.

“I unequivocally think there is no place for steroids in the sport,” Gerard said. “There are tens of thousands of young people that look up to these athletes.”

Padaratz won the 1999 Gotcha Pro surf event in Huntington Beach.