Powell positive, IAAF insists tests working
Source: AFP |
July 16, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ATHLETICS' world governing body yesterday said that the anti-doping system was working, after top sprinters Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell returned positive tests, sending shockwaves through the sport.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said it had an "unwavering" commitment to root out drug cheats, as it had a duty to the majority of athletes who believed in clean competition.
"It is for them that we have built a program that is well-resourced, far-reaching and sophisticated," the IAAF said in a statement.
"The fact that we are able to detect and remove from the sport athletes who have breached our anti-doping rules should be seen in this context.
"The credibility of our anti-doping program, and the sport of athletics, is enhanced, not diminished, each time we are able to uncover a new case and we have the committed support of every athlete, coach or official who believes in clean sport."
Gay and Powell - two of the four fastest men in history - on Sunday both confirmed separately that they had tested positive for a banned substance. US sprinter Gay, the 2007 100m world champion and the fastest man in the world this year, and Powell, a former world record holder in the straight sprint, will now not compete in next month's athletics world championships in Moscow.
Powell was reportedly one of five athletes who failed drug tests at Jamaica's national trials last month in Kingston.
"I want to be clear that I have never knowingly or wilfully taken any supplements or substances that break any rules. I am not now nor have I ever been a cheat," insisted Powell.
Jamaican Olympic gold medalist Sherone Simpson also faces suspension after failing tests at the Jamaican championships last month.
The news came a month after another Jamaican Olympic gold medalist, Veronica Campbell-Brown, tested positive for a banned diuretic. Campbell-Brown is being suspended while a disciplinary panel reviews her case. She has denied cheating.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said it had an "unwavering" commitment to root out drug cheats, as it had a duty to the majority of athletes who believed in clean competition.
"It is for them that we have built a program that is well-resourced, far-reaching and sophisticated," the IAAF said in a statement.
"The fact that we are able to detect and remove from the sport athletes who have breached our anti-doping rules should be seen in this context.
"The credibility of our anti-doping program, and the sport of athletics, is enhanced, not diminished, each time we are able to uncover a new case and we have the committed support of every athlete, coach or official who believes in clean sport."
Gay and Powell - two of the four fastest men in history - on Sunday both confirmed separately that they had tested positive for a banned substance. US sprinter Gay, the 2007 100m world champion and the fastest man in the world this year, and Powell, a former world record holder in the straight sprint, will now not compete in next month's athletics world championships in Moscow.
Powell was reportedly one of five athletes who failed drug tests at Jamaica's national trials last month in Kingston.
"I want to be clear that I have never knowingly or wilfully taken any supplements or substances that break any rules. I am not now nor have I ever been a cheat," insisted Powell.
Jamaican Olympic gold medalist Sherone Simpson also faces suspension after failing tests at the Jamaican championships last month.
The news came a month after another Jamaican Olympic gold medalist, Veronica Campbell-Brown, tested positive for a banned diuretic. Campbell-Brown is being suspended while a disciplinary panel reviews her case. She has denied cheating.
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