Jamaican 4X100 Relay Runners (Photo via FirstPost.com)
Jamaican sprinter Nesta Carter has reportedly failed a “B” sample test for the use of a banned stimulant at the 2008 Beijing Games, which could now cost his relay teammates, including Usain Bolt, their Olympic gold medals.
The Jamaica Olympic Association released a statement last Friday saying it had been notified by the International Olympic Committee that a positive test had been returned, but the athlete wasn’t named.
Sources close to the case say Carter, who was part of Jamaica’s successful 4 x 100m relay team in Beijing, has tested positive for Methylhexanamin.
The stimulant has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency Code banned list since 2004, although it was reclassified on the 2011 list as a “specified substance.”
While teammates Bolt, Asafa Powell and Michael Frater are not accused of doping, they could be stripped of their gold medals as a result of Carter’s positive test.
IAAF Rule 41 states: “the relay team shall be automatically disqualified from the event in question, with all resulting consequences for the relay team, including the forfeiture of all titles, awards, medals, points and prize and appearance money” if an athlete is found guilty of doping.
However, there is a precedent for the innocent team members to keep their medals.
American athlete Marion Jones was stripped of her two relay medals from the 2000 Sydney Games for doping offenses, but her teammates kept theirs after successfully appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said it was unclear at this stage what sanctions would be imposed in this case.
“It is still being worked out,” he said. “What we want to do, and are trying to do, is target athletes who have positive results and stop them from competing in Rio.”
Bolt and Powell could not be reached for comment, while Frater told Reuters by telephone on Wednesday that he “can’t comment until everything is official.”
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