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British sprinter CJ Ujah gets 22-month ban for doping violation
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Britain's CJ Ujah after the seventh heat of the men's 100 meters on the eighth day of the Tokyo Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, July 31, 2021. /CFP
Britain's CJ Ujah after the seventh heat of the men's 100 meters on the eighth day of the Tokyo Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, July 31, 2021. /CFP

Britain's CJ Ujah after the seventh heat of the men's 100 meters on the eighth day of the Tokyo Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, July 31, 2021. /CFP

British sprinter Chijindu Ujah was banned by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for 22 months on Monday for a doping violation at last year's Tokyo Olympics but cleared of intentionally taking prohibited substances.

Ujah was provisionally suspended after Ostarine and S-23 - substances prohibited by the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) - were detected in his A and B samples following the men's 4x100m relay final in which Britain finished second behind Italy.

The AIU, which oversees integrity issues in international athletics including doping, added that the ban was effective from August 6 2021 and will be in force until June 5, 2023.

Ujah and his teammates Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake were stripped of their silver medal in February after a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling. Canada were upgraded to silver and China to bronze.

Ujah had said he had "not knowingly or intentionally doped" but Kilty said in February that British Athletics and UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) had "hammered home" their rules, asking athletes not to use uncertified supplements.

UKAD said in a statement that the AIU announcement marked another sad chapter in the case and for sport in Britain.

"Every national governing body, athlete, coach and member of support staff should take this case as a warning that doping presents a threat to British sport at the highest levels," said UKAD Chief Executive Jane Rumble.

"This case underlines the need for all sports to redouble their commitment to their anti-doping responsibilities."

Source(s): Reuters

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