Sprinting in drug storm as Gay, Powell and Simpson face bans after failing tests
- Tyson Gay admits guilt after testing positive for banned substance
- Jamaicans Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson also fail tests
- Gay ran fastest 100m time this year with 9.75s
- Powell has clocked 9.88s but was not selected in Jamaica World Championships team to travel to Moscow next month
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Athletics was plunged into turmoil on Sunday after it was revealed that two of the sport’s biggest names had failed drugs tests.
Tyson Gay, the fastest man in the world this year, has tested positive for an unidentified substance and former world record-holder Asafa Powell was among five Jamaican athletes to have failed drugs tests for a banned stimulant.
Usain Bolt’s agent Ricky Simms said categorically that his client was not implicated in the scandal, but Olympic relay gold medallist Sherone Simpson confirmed she had tested positive for oxilofrine at Jamaica’s national trials last month.
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Shock: Tyson Gay has withdrawn from the world championships
Unconfirmed reports claimed that 27-year-old Nesta Carter, who ran 9.87sec for the 100m on Saturday night, had also fallen foul of the authorities. If proven, the three quickest men over 100m this year will have failed drugs tests and will miss August’s World Championships in Moscow, leaving the sport in crisis.
Gay, 30, the second fastest man of all time, has run the three quickest 100m times of 2013, but tested positive for an unnamed substance at an out-of-competition test on May 16.
The triple world champion will have his ‘B’ sample tested this week, but has already pulled out of the USA’s World Championships team and Friday’s Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
Star men: Gay (left) has recorded the fastest 100m time this year and Powell (right) is a former world record holder
Gay said: ‘I don’t have a sabotage story. I put my trust in someone and was let down.
‘I don’t have anything to say to make this seem like it was a mistake or it was on USADA’s (United States Anti-Doping Agency) hands, someone playing games. I don’t have any of those stories.
‘I made a mistake. I know exactly what went on, but I can’t discuss it right now. I hope I am able to run again, but I will take whatever punishment I get like a man.’
You too: After the news of Gay's failed test, it emerged that Asafa Powell (left) also tested positive
On a dark day for athletics, it then emerged that Powell was one of five Jamaican athletes to have failed tests. Powell, Simpson and Carter are all coached by Stephen Francis at the MVP Track and Field Club and the two confirmed failed tests relate to oxilofrine, a banned stimulant. Two athletes who compete in field events, including a junior, are also understood to be implicated.
Powell and Simpson both insisted they had not taken the drug intentionally, with sources suggesting it was part of a new supplement introduced to their training group. If their ‘B’ samples back up the findings of the ‘A’ samples, however, they will both face two-year bans, making it possible that they will never run again.
Devastating: Gay has admitting to using a banned substance
Gutting: The news is a true blow to those involved in athletics
Powell, 30, said: ‘A sample I gave earlier this year has returned “adverse findings”. The substance oxilofrine was found, which is considered by the authorities to be a banned stimulant. I have never knowingly or willfully taken any supplements or substances that break any rules. I am not now — nor have I ever been — a cheat.
‘My team has launched an internal investigation and we are cooperating with the relevant agencies and law enforcement authorities to discover how the substance got in my system.
‘This result has left me devastated. I am reeling from this genuinely surprising result. I accept the consequences that come with this finding. My fault, however, is not cheating but instead not being more vigilant. I want to reiterate that in my career as an athlete I have never sought to enhance my performance with any substance.’
Pulling out: Gay will take no part in the Moscow World Championships next month after the findings
Simpson, 28, also took responsibility. ‘As an athlete, I know I am responsible for whatever goes into my body,’ she said. ‘I would not intentionally take an illegal substance of any form. I am sorry for any hurt or embarrassment this positive test may have caused.’ This is the biggest crisis to hit athletics since the BALCO scandal at the turn of the century, when a number of American athletes, including Olympic champion Marion Jones, were found to be taking banned substances.
Veronica Campbell-Brown, a close friend of Gay and the world 200m champion, was suspended following a positive test for a banned masking agent in June.
Former world 110m hurdles champion Colin Jackson said it was an ‘absolutely awful’ day for track and field, while British 200m champion James Ellington called it a ‘disappointing day for our sport’.
Another one: Sherone Simpson (left) has also tested positive for a banned substance
Jackson added: ‘Gay is a global star. It has a huge effect on the sport. It takes away faith from the public. The good side is it doesn’t matter what level you’re at; if you’re taking drugs you will get caught.’
Neil Black, performance director of British Athletics, said: ‘I would start with utter disappointment that things like this happen.
‘You think of the athletes striving day by day and it must rip the backside out of them. We all suffer.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2362943/Tyson-Gay-Asafa-Powell-Sherone-Simpson-test-positive-banned-substance-drug.html#ixzz2Z3sVTdYP
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