Asafa Powell confirms failed dope test

KINGSTON (AFP) – Former world 100
metre record holder Asafa Powell
confirmed on Sunday that he had failed a
drugs test which will keep him out of the
upcoming World Championships in
Moscow.
Jamaican star Powell was the second
leading sprinter on Sunday to fail a dope
test following America’s former world
champion Tyson Gay.
Asafa Powell
“I will confirm that a sample I gave at the
National Trials in June has returned
‘adverse findings’,” said the 30-year-old
Powell in a statement released on his
Twitter account.
“The substance oxilofrine was found,
which is considered by the authorities to
be a banned stimulant.”
The failed test means Powell is out of the
Worlds which will take place in Moscow
between August 10-18.
Powell went on to vehemently deny he
had ever knowingly taken any illegal
performance-enhancing drugs.
“I want to be clear…that I have never
knowingly or wilfully taken any
supplements or substances that break any
rules,” Powell wrote. “I am not now nor
have I ever been a cheat.”
He added: “This finding fully negates any
possibility of me being a part of Jamaica’s
contingent of athletes competing at the
World Championships in Moscow later
this summer.
“I have accepted the consequences that
come with this finding — after all there is
only one Asafa Powell.”
Powell, who runs for the MVP Track and
Field Club, said he has been in contact
with both anti-doping agencies and law
enforcement officials about the matter.
He did not go into detail about what role
law enforcement is taking.
“We are co-operating with the relevant
agencies and law enforcement authorities
to discover how the substance got into
my system,” said Powell, who held the
100 metre world record between June
2005 and May 2008.
Powell has won two bronze medals (2007,
2009) in the 100 metres at the World
Championships. He also had one gold in
the 4×100 metre relay (2009) and a silver
in the 2007 relay at the Worlds.
Powell says he plans to hold his own
investigation to try and figure out how
the banned substance got into his
system.
“I assure you that we will find out how
this substance passed our rigorous
internal checks and balances and design
systems to make sure it never happens
again.”
Powell is one of the fastest men in history
to never have won an individual Olympic
medal.
He finished in last place in the 100
metres at the 2012 London Games, well
behind compatriot Usain Bolt with a
disappointing time of 11.99 seconds,
blaming the performance on a nagging
groin injury.
He had back-to-back fifth place finishes in
the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing
Olympic 100 metre finals. Powell was a
member of the USA’s gold medal winning
4×100 relay team at the Beijing Games.
According to media reports, Powell was
one of five athletes who failed drug tests
at the national trials last month in
Kingston.
Sherone Simpson, a silver medallist in the
women’s 100m at the 2008 Olympics,
was one of them, according to a report in
Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
The Jamaica Gleaner newspaper claimed
the substance taken may have been
contained in a food supplement.
“My team and I will try to do everything
we can to get this issue dealt with as best
as we can,” Simpson told the Gleaner.
“Thanks to all who have been supporting
me, I really appreciate it at this time.”