Early this morning, Tyson Gay, the American record holder in the 100 meters, admitted that he had received notice from USADA on Friday, July 12, 2013, that he had an adverse finding in a out-of-competition drug test from May 16, 2013. The A sample of Mr. Gay had tested positive for a banned substance. He then announced that he would withdraw from the Moscow 2013 World Championships, changing the 100 and 200 meters at the World Championships.
This was confirmed in Athletics Weekly, ESPN.com, ABC.com, the Guardian UK, and the New York Times, among other media services.
Tyson Gay, June 23, 2013,
photo by PhotoRun.net
Tyson Gay, who won the 100 meters and 200 meters in the 2007 Osaka’s World Championships, as well as a silver medal in the 2009 World Championships, has spent most of the past five years recuperating from surgeries and racing hurt. It has only been in 2013 that Tyson Gay has found health and fitness. Over the weekend of June 20-23, Tyson Gay won the 100 meters (9.75) and the 200 meters (19.79w) at the USA Outdoor championships.
In a conversation with the Associated Press, Tyson Gay, who was noted as sobbing, took responsibility for his actions. ” I had put my trust in someone.” who Mr. Gay would not identify.
His B sample has not been tested. Mr. Gay has withdrawn from the World Championship team in the 100 meters and 200 meters. In anyone’s mind, Mr. Gay would have been on the 4 x 100 meters relay team.
With Tyson Gay withdrawing from both sprints, Mike Rodgers will more than likely run in the 100 meters and Wallace Spearmon, Jr. will be in the 200 meters.
The announcement shocked many in the sports world, especially the fellow athletes. Gay was well liked by his fellow athletes and adored by American sprint fans. Tyson Gay had been involved in a USADA program where he took extra testing to show that one could race clean.
This tragedy will unfold over the next several weeks, perhaps months. Tyson Gay will return to the US shortly, as he is expected to speak to USADA and, it should be noted, he has the right to witness his B sample being tested.
USADA did give a positive response to Tyson Gay withdrawing from the USA Track & Field Team.
Tyson Gay gave the following quote to the Associated Press: ” I will take whatever punishment I get like a man. I do realize and respect what I put in my body and it is my responsibility.”
USATF CEO Max Siegel sent out a statement within a short time on Tyson Gay, not mentioning Tyson, but acknowledging the important work that USADA does, noting that he did not have all of the details on the Tyson Gay case and noting that he was focused on continuing to compete clean. For that statement, click here: https://www.runblogrun.com/2013/07/statement-from-usat-ceo-max-siegel-about-tyson-gay-from-jill-geerusat.html
Within an hour of the Tyson Gay announcement, it was announced by the Jamaica Gleaner that five Jamaican track and field athletes had tested positive at their championships on June 20-23, 2013.
More details to come…
For further reading:
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/tyson-gay-tests-positive-banned-substance-19661785#.UeL6keCuqrI
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/jul/14/tyson-gay-tests-positive-banned-substance
http://espn.go.com/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/9476832/us-sprinter-tyson-gay-tests-positive-race
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2013/07/14/tyson-gay-tests-positive-for-banned-substance/2515733/
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/sports/tyson-gay-tests-positive-for-banned-substance.html?_r=0
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Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys.
Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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