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Barber said he initially rejected a couple of replies to his ad that he deemed untrustworthy — he specifically asked for someone disease and drug-free. The woman he later met was described as a mother of two.

Identified only as “W” in the report, the woman agreed to testify at the hearing, as “she felt horrible about what happened” and would hate to be the reason for Barber not achieving his dream.

The sexual encounter lasted about 30 minutes, and they apparently kissed on and off throughout.

The following day, Barber set a new Canadian championship record and won the Canadian title.

On July 26, Athletics Canada head coach Peter Eriksson broke the news to Barber of the positive test and the four-year ban from sport proposed by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

Barber testified that he was in complete shock, as he has never taken cocaine.

The CCES initially argued that athletes are required to take utmost caution to ensure they don’t ingest a prohibited substance.

There is more caution I have to take now, because I realize I put myself at risk by kissing a girl

“Counsel emphasized that Mr. Barber chose a random woman he had no history with, knew very little about and had barely met in person for five minutes before kissing,” arbitrator Ross Dumoulin wrote in the decision. “This was a pre-meditated effort by the athlete to have a sexual encounter with a stranger in a hotel room. Exercising utmost caution would require him to have made inquiries to satisfy himself that there was no cocaine involved.

“The point was made that even if it were true that online dating has become an increasingly acceptable way of meeting new people, be it lovers or just one-night stands, athletes do not play by the same rules as society at large — they play by the anti-doping rules, which have always imposed a far more stringent standard.”

The panel ruled Barber did not know or suspect that he was at risk of ingesting cocaine by kissing the woman, so he was not at fault for the positive test. He was, however, automatically stripped of the Canadian title and Canadian record he set in Edmonton.

“It’s just a learning experience,” he said. “I live my life in a hotel. It can be rough at times.”

Barber’s father George also competed in high jump for Canada. George Barber was banned as a coach last fall by Athletics Canada after the organization learned of his conviction for having sex with a student at a high school he worked at in New Mexico.

With a file from The Canadian Press