London (AFP) – Britain’s 4x100m relay is threatened with a silver medal withdrawal at the Tokyo Olympics over the doping case.
As announced by the International Testing Agency (ETA) on September 14, the B sample confirmed suspected doping in sprinter Chijindu Ujah. The 27-year-old athlete tested positive for two substances similar in effect to anabolic and androgenic steroids.
ETA announced that Sample B confirmed the result of Sample A. So the case was referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on September 8, which is now set to rule on the withdrawal of the silver medal. The case will then be handed over to the IAAF’s Athletics Integrity Unit, which will decide to suspend Ogah.
The runner himself had denied the existence of a doping offense and had requested that a B sample be opened. “To be absolutely clear, I am not a fraud,” he said in a statement. Ujah is temporarily banned. Because of the doping issue, squadmates Nathaniel Mitchell Blake, Richard Keelty and Zernell Hughes lost the silver. In the event of later disqualification, Canada will move to the silver medal behind Italy and China will take the bronze. Thus, the German quartet will be the fifth instead of the sixth.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210914-99-217506 / 2
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