LONDON, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) — British sprinter Chijindu Ujah has been banned for 22 months from 6 August, 2021 until 5 June, 2023 for doping rule violation, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced on Monday.
Earlier this year, Britain’s men’s 4x100m relay team was stripped of its silver medal at the 202 Tokyo Olympics after Ujah was confirmed to have violated anti-doping regulations. World Athletics was then requested to consider any further action within its own jurisdiction.
After extended enquiries, the AIU, which was founded by World Athletics to combat doping in the sport, concluded that “the sprinter’s anti-doping rule violation was not intentional as a result of his ingestion of a contaminated supplement and the applicable two-year period of ineligibility was reduced by two months on account of how promptly he admitted the violation”.
In an interview with British media, Ujah claimed a basic amino acid supplement purchased from Amazon for 10 pounds during lockdown had caused his positive test in Tokyo.
“During the pandemic I relied a lot on Amazon, rather than using the people and resources around me. It was just convenient, with next-day delivery, and I didn’t think anything was wrong with it,” Ujah told the Guardian.
After Britain’s result in the men’s 4x100m relay at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was disqualified, the silver medal was reallocated to Canada and China was awarded the bronze.