After serving a four-year doping suspension, the Springboks Rugby World Cup winner’s career was destroyed.
In June 2023, the 33-year-old showed favorable results for clenbuterol, a medication that many bodybuilders take to lose weight and gain muscle mass. In August of last year, the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) imposed a four-year ban on him.
The career of Elton Jantjies has ended. In a declaration verifying his positive test result for the prohibited drug, Jantjies pledged to establish his innocence at the time of the sentence. “I assure all my supporters that I have not and never will deliberately take a banned substance and that I will do everything in my power to prove my innocence,” he stated in the statement. “At this stage, I can say little more about the matter.”
“In what has been an extremely turbulent period for me, this is just another setback, but with the help of my family and friends, I will overcome this. I’m aware that some people may question my innocence, but I intend to disprove your claims when the time comes. I’m grateful to everyone who has helped me.
SAIDS revealed that the Springbok has not used his entitlement to have his case heard before an Independent Doping Hearing Panel (IDHP), thus those were hollow promises. After a hectic 18 months, the most recent event appears to put an end to the former fly-half’s career.
He was detained and accused of intentionally causing property damage and violating the Aviation Act in the middle of 2022 after he reportedly caused damage to property while traveling on an Emirates flight.
After that, the criminal case was dropped, clearing his name and making the ex-Bok pay for any resulting damages. After an alleged affair with team nutritionist Zeenat Simjee made news, he was sent home from the Springbok camp while South Africa was in Argentina for the Rugby Championship against Los Pumas.
The career of Jantjies. Throughout his career, Jantjies made 46 appearances for the Springboks; he received his final cap against Australia in August 2022.
While he was part of the Springboks set up as injury cover during the Rugby Championship last year, he was released without earning another cap. He was a member of the 2019 Rugby World Cup winning side that captured the William Webb Ellis Cup in Japan.
He played for the Lions and Stormers in South Africa during his career, as well as the Red Hurricanes and Shining Arcs in Japan. In France, he practiced his profession as a representative for Pau and Agen, the latter of which released him from his contract.