•Athlete’s samples returns positive for a banned substance
•Team GB has lost their Silver Medal won at Tokyo Olympic Games
Team GB has lost their Silver medal that was won from the men’s 4 by 100 meters relay at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 on doping.
This is after the Court of Arbitration for Sports confirmed that samples of the sprinter CJ Ujah that were after the event in August last year showed traces of banned substances.
Chijindu Ujah of Team Great Britain competes in the Men’s 4 x 100m Relay Final on day fourteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 06, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
According to CAS, traces were found of two banned performance-enhancing substances that help to build muscles Ostarine and S-23.
He ran alongside teammates Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty, and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake but up to now, he has not challenged the ruling however he said in a statement that he was unaware if he took banned substances but CAS did not accept.
Great Britain’s CJ Ujah with men’s 4x100m relay team mates in August 2021. Photo/Courtesy
He apologized to his teammates, their families, and teams for “the impact which this has had on them.” through an Instagram post on Saturday.
“I’m sorry that this situation has cost my teammates the medals they worked so hard and so long for, and which they richly deserved. That is something I will regret for the rest of my life,” Ujah said in a statement.
“It’s absolutely heartbreaking to finally hear the news that the medal is going to be stripped and wiped from history,” he added.
“The happiness for me was to win an Olympic medal and give it to my son for him to take it in to school and say ‘my dad won an Olympic medal’.
“I never got to do that. The motivation is for the next two and a half years to make sure that job gets done properly next time [at Paris 2024].”
Consequences of doping
Ujah is now suspended from competition and may also receive a ban from the Athletics Integrity Unit.
Richard Kilty in a statement that he felt sad about the “devastating situation”
He further explained how the supplement Ujah used wasn’t batch tested and this means it wasn’t certified for use in line with Informed Sport’s standards which British Athletics abide by.
“We get that hammered home by British Athletics and UK Anti-Doping,” said Kilty.
“They are the rules you have to follow and I have for the last 21 years. It’s just devastating that other teammates haven’t followed the rules as strictly as the rest of us. And we’ve been burned by that.
“I am glad CJ has apologized to us, our families, and the whole set-up. I’m thankful for the apology but, on the other hand, the rules are rules.
“When you become a professional athlete, the main thing you sign up for is you are on a one-hour curfew for the rest of your life to provide the address and time you will be available for testing.
“You are responsible for everything that goes into your body – everything. You have to be accountable for that.
“It doesn’t go through your mind once and it never crossed my mind ever that one of our members failed a test, not in a million years.”
He suggested that “only CJ knows the truth”. “Either he took drugs or it was contaminated in his supplements which weren’t tested,” he said.
“Either one is not following the rules. So it’s his mistake, he’s owned up to it. I’m sure he’s very regretful for not following the rules as strictly as he should have done.”
Ujah found far less sympathy from a “deeply disappointed” British Olympic Association (BOA).
“We welcome his contrition,” it responded in a statement. “That said, this should act as a salutary message for anyone – British or otherwise – who is doping or considering doping as a way of boosting their athletic performance.
“You will get caught. You are not welcome on our team and nor are you representative of our values, or of our nation.
“All athletes, wherever they are from, deserve to go to the start line knowing they are in clean competition. It is with deep sorrow that colleagues and opponents of Ujah were not able to be reassured of this fact in Tokyo.
“On behalf of everyone in British sport, we unreservedly apologize to the athletes whose moment was lost in Tokyo due to the actions of Ujah.
“We are also disappointed for the three colleagues of Ujah who, through no fault of their own, will now lose their silver medals.”
Team GB finished second to Italy in the race, ahead of bronze winners Canada and fourth-placed China.
Ujah’s case is the third time that a Team GB athlete or team has been stripped of a medal.
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