The British 4x100-meter men's relay team has been stripped of their Olympic silver medal six months after winning it in Tokyo due to sprinter C.J. Ujah testing positive for prohibited substances.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld Ujah's anti-doping violation on Friday after he had initially tested positive for the banned substances Ostarine and S-23 following the race in Tokyo in August.
CAS noted Ujah did not challenge the violation but said he claimed to have “not knowingly or intentionally doped," according to Reuters.
Ujah's violation meant his result from the relay has been disqualified, which nullifies Britain's second-place finish behind Italy. Ujah, 27, was joined on the relay by teammates Richard Kilty, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and Zharnel Hughes.
Third-place Canada will now receive the silver medal, and China will be awarded a bronze.
Ujah, who could face a ban from competition of up to four years, released a statement through U.K. Athletics on Friday, according to ESPN.
"I unknowingly consumed a contaminated supplement and this was the reason why an anti-doping rule violation occurred at the Tokyo Olympic Games,” he said. "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.”
The British Olympic Association also issued a statement.
"We have always been unequivocal and consistent in our stance against doping. All athletes, wherever they are from, deserve to go to the start line knowing they are in clean competition.
“It is with deep sorrow that colleagues and opponents of Ujah were not able to be reassured of this fact in Tokyo. Having spent the last few years retrospectively awarding numerous British athletes with medals they should have won on the day at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Sochi 2014, we understand first-hand the hurt and loss doping can cause.
"On behalf of everyone in British sport we unreservedly apologise to the athletes whose moment was lost in Tokyo due to the actions of Ujah. We are also disappointed for the three colleagues of Ujah who, through no fault of their own, will now lose their silver medals."
The decision to strip the British team of the silver medal comes days after the Winter Olympics had its own issues with an athlete testing positive for banned substances.
Russian Olympic Committee figure skater Kamila Valieva, 15, tested positive for the heart drug trimetazidine during the Russian nationals competition in December, but those results weren’t disclosed until last week after she helped the ROC win a team gold medal.
The drug can be used to improve stamina in young athletes for an advantage in competition. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Valieva could still compete in the individual competition, upsetting many fans and fellow competitors.
Valieva, a gold medal favorite, ended up taking a surprising fourth on Thursday after falling multiple times during her free skate.
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