Britain are increasingly likely to be stripped of their men’s 4×100 metres Olympic silver medal from Tokyo after Chijindu Ujah’s B sample confirmed his positive drugs test.
News of Ujah’s initial failed test emerged days after he had run the first leg of a thrilling race that saw Italy pip the British team to gold by just 0.01 seconds.
The test, which was conducted following that relay final, showed traces of Ostarine and S-23, selective androgen receptor modulators that aid muscle building.
Ujah subsequently requested for his B sample, conducted at the same time as the initial specimen, to be tested. The International Testing Agency has now confirmed it also contained traces of the illegal substances.
The case has been referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), who will decide whether to strip Britain of the silver medal.
Even if Ujah was to successfully argue the substances entered his body from a contaminated supplement, Britain would still be likely to lose the medal under strict liability rules.
International Olympic Committee rules states: “Where the athlete who has committed an anti-doping rule violation competed as a member of a relay team, 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.”
Once the Cas has ruled on the Olympic medal, the case will then be referred to the Athletics Integrity Unit to decide on what sanctions Ujah might face.
Should the relay team lose its medal, Team GB’s total haul from Tokyo would drop to 64, one fewer than than the team managed at the London 2012 Games. It would also mean just five medals for an athletics team that failed to win an Olympic gold for the first time since 1996.
Ujah reacted to news of his failed test last month, saying: “I am completely shocked and devastated by this news. To be absolutely clear, I am not a cheat and I have never and would never knowingly take a banned substance.
“I love my sport and I know my responsibilities both as an athlete and as a team-mate. I am respecting the formal processes and will not be making any further comment until it is appropriate to do so.”
Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, the other three members of Britain’s relay quartet, have remained largely silent on the subject since the news first emerged.
Hughes is the only one of the trio to comment publicly, writing on social media last month: “I’ve not posted since the Olympics because of a situation out of my control – one I am not involved in, but may be impacted by.
“I think it’s important to say that, as athletes, we need two things. First and foremost, a clean sport. The authorities are there to protect sport – something every athlete needs for fair competition.
“We also need to ensure that athletes finding themselves under the spotlight must have a fair hearing in their case, without prejudice. This is vital. Let the process run its course.”
If Britain are disqualified, Canada’s bronze medallists would be upgraded to silver, with China moving up a spot from fourth to take bronze.
Meanwhile, UK Sport says it is concerned with news that some of Britain’s leading athletes have discussed resigning from their UK Athletics contracts and giving up funding due to disillusionment with the governing body.
UK Athletics is understood to have held an emergency board meeting on Tuesday morning after Telegraph Sport revealed a group of British athletes had raised their concerns with World Athletics president Lord Coe in a chance encounter after the Zurich Diamond League last week, pleading with him to step in, amid growing anger and disillusionment at some of governing body’s recent decisions.
That followed a series of “catastrophic” cuts among Olympic medal-winning coaches. UK Athletics said any changes were “not set and remain under consultation, which has been further extended to ensure the feedback is given full consideration”. It added that “for some, the changes made are difficult”.
A UK Sport spokesperson on Tuesday told Telegraph Sport: “Following Tokyo 2020 every sport is expected to conduct a review to assess their performance in Tokyo and look at where they are with the development of their programmes and athletes as we look towards Paris. In the coming weeks we will be working with sports, including athletics, to discuss their review.
“The suggestion that athletes may be considering leaving the World Class Programme is a concern and something we will discuss with the UK Athletics leadership team.”
It also urged “any athlete who has a grievance to speak up”.