byStuart WeirCJ Ujah has been sanctioned. The GB 4x100m relay team has to forfeit their silver medals along with CJ Ujah. There are multiple tragedies in this situation.
Doping has been part of the sport since I got involved in 1972. The announcements were treated with fanfare, and cynics accused all athletes of cheating. Federations lost control in the 1970s. Current groups such as WADA, USADA, and Athletics Integrity Unit are catching more cheaters. That is a sign that anti-doping is working!
The deal is this. There are athletes who test is positive who are not, and athletes who test negative who are positive. There is also a process where athletes can appeal the process.
In the end, there are multiple tragedies.
Stuart Weir wrote this piece on CJ Ujah.
Great Britain 4 x 100m relay, London 2017, photo by British Athletics
CJ Ujah
Today saw the disappointing but expected announcement of a ban for CJ Ujah and the forfeit of Britain’s Olympic 4 by 100 relay medal.
CJ Ujah, photo by British Athletics
The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced the following decision:
• Chijindu Ujah (the Athlete) is found to have committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) pursuant to Article 2.1 of the IOC Anti-Doping Rules (IOC ADR) applicable to the Games of the XXXII Olympiad Tokyo 2020.
• Chijindu Ujah is sanctioned with the disqualification of his results in the 4 x 100m sprint relay Final on 6 August 2021, and his results in the 100m sprint – together with the forfeiture of any medals, diplomas, points, and prizes in accordance with Article 10.1 of the IOC Anti-Doping Rules for the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020.
• The Great Britain men’s sprint relay team results in the 4 x 100m sprint relay Final on 6 August 2021 are disqualified together with the forfeiture of any medals, diplomas, points, and prizes in accordance with Article 11.3 of the IOC Anti-Doping Rules for the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020.
A World Athletics/AIU process will follow on from this CAS outcome.
The full judgment is at:
https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/CAS_ADD_Media_Release_ADD33.pdf
Ujah commented: “I accept the decision issued by the Court of Arbitration for Sport today with sadness. I would like to make it clear that I unknowingly consumed a contaminated supplement and this was the reason why an anti-doping rule violation occurred at the Tokyo Olympic Games. I sincerely regret that this has inadvertently led to the forfeiture of the men’s 4 x 100m relay team’s Olympic silver medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
“I would like to apologize to my teammates, their families, and support teams for the impact which this has had on them. I’m sorry that this situation has cost my teammates the medals they worked so hard and so long for, and which they richly deserved. That is something I will regret for the rest of my life.
“I would also like to apologize to both British Athletics and Team GB. British Athletics has supported the relay athletes for years and this has been difficult for everyone involved in the program. Representing my country at a second Olympic Games surpassed my childhood sporting ambitions and I will forever be devastated that this situation has marred the success achieved by the men’s 4 x 100 relay team in Tokyo.
“Now that the IOC proceedings have concluded before CAS, my focus is on the forthcoming proceedings before World Athletics and I will therefore not be making any further comment until those separate proceedings have concluded”.
Ujah, who is 27, has a PR of 9.96. He was part of the GB 4 by 100 squad which took gold in the 2017 World Championships in London.
Assuming that Ujah’s account is correct – and I have no reason at all not to believe it – the case underlines the risks that athletes run with supplements. Interestingly two top athletes have told me the last six months that they never take supplements to avoid this risk.
