On Thursday The British Olympic Association (BOA) announced the men’s 4 x 100m relay team must return their silver medals they won at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The ruling comes from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Back in February, the CAS ruled British athlete Chijindu Ujah was guilty of a doping violation after testing positive for two banned substances. The result, including Ujah’s time in the 100m, were disqualified.
“It is with real sadness that we have had to ask for the medals, certificates and pins back, especially for the three athletes who have been affected through no fault of their own,” BOA CEO Andy Anson said in a statement.
“However, this is the CAS ruling and we must abide by it, just as we have been clear that must happen to other nations whose athletes have broken doping rules.”
The silver medals won by Ujah, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, Zharnel Hughes and Richard Kilty will be redistributed to the third place team which was Canada. China finished in fourth.
In February. Ujah blamed the positive result on a “contaminated supplement” and said he never knowingly took any banned substance, although in a statement he did accept the CAS’s decision.
“I sincerely regret that this has inadvertently led to the forfeiture of the men’s 4 x 100m relay team’s Olympic silver medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games,” Ujah said.
“I would like to apologize to my team mates, their families and support teams for the impact which this has had on them.
“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.”
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