“This does not auger well for track and field globally,” said Rashalee Mitchell, a 29-year-old assistant social sciences lecturer at Jamaica’s campus of the University of the West Indies. The news stirred up angst on the island, where success on the track is a point of pride but the rigor of the country’s anti-doping program is under constant scrutiny. Shortly after Doyle’s confirmation, Powell and Simpson each released statements acknowledging the positive tests. Paul Doyle, the agent who represents Powell and Simpson, confirmed to the AP that his sprinters were among them. In Sunday’s editions, The Gleaner newspaper of Jamaica reported that five athletes had tested positive. turf, the positives recorded by Powell and Simpson are part of a bigger doping crisis hitting Jamaica, the home of Bolt and the country that has won 28 medals over the last three Olympics. “Asafa and Tyson are certainly two people who a lot of track fans have loved and admired for a long time. “Everyone has that favorite, that one guy, `Hey, this is the guy I’ve always been a supporter of his,’” Boldon said. That’s reality.”įour-time Olympic medalist and sprint analyst Ato Boldon also called it a “difficult day because track and field fans are left not knowing what to believe.”
“The reality is, people are using substances to reengineer their bodies or heal better. “Over the course of time, culture has bred certain defenses,” Logan said. He said he wasn’t surprised when he heard about Sunday’s onslaught of failed tests and didn’t put much credence into the excuses and apologies from those who came up positive. The former CEO recently wrote a column arguing the fight against performance-enhancing drugs in sports should be ceded because, in his view, anti-doping rules make very little headway against a problem that never seems to disappear. “But I don’t see anything on the horizon that says this will be abated in any way,” Logan told AP. Siegel’s predecessor at USATF, Doug Logan, called it “a sad day.” Max Siegel, the CEO of USA Track and Field, said in a statement: “It is not the news anyone wanted to hear, at any time, about any athlete.” He said he looked to USADA to handle the case “appropriately.” “He mentioned that he (trusted) someone and that person was untrustworthy at the end the day,” Brauman told The Associated Press in a phone interview. Generally, first-time offenders are hit with two-year bans, though reduced penalties are sometimes given if there are extenuating circumstances, which both Gay and his coach, Lance Brauman, said there were. Gay said his “B” sample will be tested soon, possibly as early as this week.
Until, that is, an out-of-competition test May 16, where results came back positive for a banned substance, the identity of which neither he nor USADA CEO Travis Tygart would reveal. Anti-Doping Agency’s “My Victory” program - in which athletes volunteer for enhanced testing to prove they’re clean - and his results never raised red flags. The 30-year-old, who won the world championship in the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay in 2007, took part in the U.S. nationals last month, said he would pull out of the world championships. Gay, who won the 100 and 200 meters at U.S. I basically put my trust in someone and I 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 hands, someone playing games,” said Gay, who fought back sobs in a telephone interview.
Gay, the American-record holder in the 100, was more contrite, though he wasn’t taking full responsibility.
Simpson, who tested positive for the same stimulant, said she “would not intentionally take an illegal substance of any form into my system.” The 30-year-old Powell, whose 100-meter record of 9.74 stood until Usain Bolt beat it in 2008, was calling for an investigation as to how a stimulant called oxilofrine entered his system and caused a positive test at Jamaica’s national championships in June.
“I am not now - nor have I ever been - a cheat,” Powell said in a message released through his Twitter account.