LONDON (AP) – British sprinter Chijindu Ujah, who won silver in the 4x100m relay at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, reacted angrily to the doping suspicions against him and dismissed all charges.
“To be absolutely clear, I am not a fraud,” the 27-year-old was quoted in a statement by the PA news agency on Saturday. He was “shocked and devastated,” said relay starter Ujah, emphasizing: “I have never intentionally consumed a prohibited substance.”
Ujah was temporarily banned on suspicion of doping. The Independent Integrity Commission of the World Athletics Federation (AIU) announced this on Thursday. The Briton is one of four athletes who tested positive for a banned substance at the Games and was named by the AIU. According to the AIU, UJAH had tested positive for two androgen receptor-binding substances that are similar in effect to anabolic and androgenic steroids.
If the B-sample confirms the result, not only is Ujah deprived of the medal, but also his fellow squadrons Nathaniel Mitchell-Blake, Richard Kilty and Jarnell Hughes. In the event of a subsequent disqualification, Canada will receive silver and China will receive bronze. The German quartet would then be fifth instead of sixth.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210814-99-843102/2
