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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/sports/tyson-gay-tests-positive-for-banned-substance.html?hp&_r=0
Three of the top sprinters in track and field, including the American Tyson Gay, on Sunday revealed that they had tested positive for banned substances, a new embarrassment for a sport that has had dozens of doping violations in recent years.
Gay, the best American sprinter over the past decade and a former world champion, said Sunday that he had tested positive. Asafa Powell of Jamaica, a former world-record holder in the 100 meters, said he, too, had failed a drug test. And Sherone Simpson of Jamaica, part of the country’s Olympic gold-medal-winning relay team, also tested positive, according to her agent.
The flurry of revelations was a particularly drastic example of the challenges athletics officials face in stamping out doping from the world’s biggest stages. Doping in track and field has been particularly vexing.
With races determined by fractions of a second, runners have long looked to any advantage — banned or not. The prize of international fame and the riches that come with it have created a cat-and-mouse game that shows no sign of slowing.
On Sunday, Gay acknowledged that he was one of the elite athletes using a banned substance.
“I don’t have any lies,” Gay told The Associated Press on Sunday. “I don’t have anything to say to make this seem like it was a mistake.”
He added: “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.”
He promised to be honest with antidoping officials “about everything, everybody I’ve been with, every supplement I’ve ever taken, every company I’ve ever dealt with, everything,” he said.
Gay and Powell said they would withdraw from the world championships next month in Moscow. The third sprinter, Simpson, has also tested positive for a banned stimulant, her agent, Paul Doyle, told The Associated Press on Sunday. Simpson won an Olympic gold medal in the women’s 400-meter relay in 2004 and a silver in 2012. Powell acknowledged Sunday that he tested positive for Oxilofrine, a banned stimulant. In a statement on Twitter, he said that he did not know how he ingested the drug.
“I have never knowingly or willfully taken any supplement or substances that break any rules,” he said. “I am not now — nor have I ever been — a cheat. I am reeling from this genuinely surprising result.”
Article continues: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/sports/tyson-gay-tests-positive-for-banned-substance.html?hp&_r=0
Three of the top sprinters in track and field, including the American Tyson Gay, on Sunday revealed that they had tested positive for banned substances, a new embarrassment for a sport that has had dozens of doping violations in recent years.
Gay, the best American sprinter over the past decade and a former world champion, said Sunday that he had tested positive. Asafa Powell of Jamaica, a former world-record holder in the 100 meters, said he, too, had failed a drug test. And Sherone Simpson of Jamaica, part of the country’s Olympic gold-medal-winning relay team, also tested positive, according to her agent.
The flurry of revelations was a particularly drastic example of the challenges athletics officials face in stamping out doping from the world’s biggest stages. Doping in track and field has been particularly vexing.
With races determined by fractions of a second, runners have long looked to any advantage — banned or not. The prize of international fame and the riches that come with it have created a cat-and-mouse game that shows no sign of slowing.
On Sunday, Gay acknowledged that he was one of the elite athletes using a banned substance.
“I don’t have any lies,” Gay told The Associated Press on Sunday. “I don’t have anything to say to make this seem like it was a mistake.”
He added: “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.”
He promised to be honest with antidoping officials “about everything, everybody I’ve been with, every supplement I’ve ever taken, every company I’ve ever dealt with, everything,” he said.
Gay and Powell said they would withdraw from the world championships next month in Moscow. The third sprinter, Simpson, has also tested positive for a banned stimulant, her agent, Paul Doyle, told The Associated Press on Sunday. Simpson won an Olympic gold medal in the women’s 400-meter relay in 2004 and a silver in 2012. Powell acknowledged Sunday that he tested positive for Oxilofrine, a banned stimulant. In a statement on Twitter, he said that he did not know how he ingested the drug.
“I have never knowingly or willfully taken any supplement or substances that break any rules,” he said. “I am not now — nor have I ever been — a cheat. I am reeling from this genuinely surprising result.”
Article continues: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/sports/tyson-gay-tests-positive-for-banned-substance.html?hp&_r=0
