Great Britain have been stripped of their silver medal in the men’s 4x100m relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after sprinter CJ Ujah tested positive for a banned substance.
The British quartet missed out on the gold medal in Japan, with Italy finishing first but Ujah tested positive for two banned substances on 6 August.
His drug test found traces of ostarine and S-23 in his system, both of which are banned substances.
A statement issued by the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS ADD) said Ujah did not challenge the violation but argued he had “not knowingly or intentionally doped, suggesting that the source of the prohibited substances could have been the ingestion of a contaminated supplement.”
The statement added: “The CAS ADD sole arbitrator issued the present decision in which she determined, to her comfortable satisfaction, that an anti-doping rule violation had been committed.”
The CAS ADD said that it has requested World Athletics to consider further action against Ujah, including a ban.
Ujah ran the first leg of the sprint relay that saw his team including Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake narrowly beaten by the Italians.
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CJ Ujah accepts the decision
The athlete said he accepts the court’s decision “with sadness”.
In a statement, Ujah, 27, said: “I would like to make it clear that I unknowingly consumed a contaminated supplement and this was the reason why an anti-doping rule violation occurred at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
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“I sincerely regret that this has inadvertently led to the forfeiture of the men’s 4x100m relay team’s Olympic silver medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
“I would like to apologise to my teammates, their families and support teams for the impact which this has had on them.
“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.”
A post shared by Zharnel Hughes (@zharnel_hughes)
He added that representing Team GB at his second Olympics “surpassed my childhood ambitions and I will forever be devastated that this situation has marred the success achieved” in Tokyo.
“I would also like to apologise to both British Athletics and Team GB. British Athletics has supported the relay athletes for years and this has been difficult for everyone involved in the programme.”