Usain Bolt may lose Olympic gold after teammate tests positive

06/10/2016

The stain of doping refuses to leave global sport as Olympic 4x100 relay gold winner Nesta Carter has now tested positive for a banned drug in retesting of samples from the 2008 Olympics. The violation may see his entire Jamaican relay team including Usain Bolt lose their gold medals.

The Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) had said last Friday that it had received notification from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that one of its athletes had tested positive for a banned substance without naming the individual. It is now revealed that it was Nesta Carter after Reuters reported that sources close to the case has said Carter's “B” sample has tested positive for banned stimulant Methylhexanamine.

Carter had run the first leg in Jamaica's Olympic Gold winning 4x100 team and also helped the team to a gold in the World Championships. The violation came to the fore after the IOC ordered retesting of 454 samples from the 2008 Beijing Games.

"It's now a matter of the next steps relating to the hearing," said one of the sources who spoke on condition of not being named, reported Reuters.

However, the IOC has not reached a conclusion on whether athletes who have tested positive in the retests would be stripped of their medals. IOC spokesman Mark Adams said discussions on the issue were ongoing.

"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," reported Reuters.

(Also read - Usain Bolt confirms retirement after Rio Olympics)

It also said that when contacted, Frater who ran the second leg in Beijing said, "Can't comment until everything is official."

However, it is very much possible that Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Michael Frater who ran the other legs of the relay could lose their medals. After American sprinter, Antonio Pettigrew admitted to a doping offence, all the members of the victorious US 4x400 relay team lost their 200 Sydney Olympic medals.

The move is based on the IAAF Rule 41 passed in 2003 and implemented in March 2004, which 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 there is a positive.

On the other hand, there is precedent for the opposite as well in the case of female sprinter Marion Jones, whose teammates were allowed to keep their Sydney Olympic medals after an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

It appears Bolt, Powell and Frater would have to wait and appeal to the Court to see if they can hold on to a precious and hard-won Olympic Gold.

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