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Nigerian athlete stripped of gold

By BBC 12/10/2010 20:51:00

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Damola Osayemi

Commonwealth Games women's 100m winner Damola Osayemi has been stripped of her gold medal after her B sample tested positive for a banned stimulant.

The decision sees England's Katherine Endacott take the silver medal after finishing fourth last Thursday.

Australia's Sally Pearson had finished first but was controversially disqualified for a false start.

Natasha Mayers of St Vincent and the Grenadines now wins Commonwealth gold, only the second ever for the country.

The bronze medal now goes to Delphine Atangana of Cameroon.

A statement from the Commonwealth Games Federation confirmed the result of the B sample.

It added that documents relating to the athlete had been referred to the International Association of Athletics Federations "for whatever subsequent action it might consider appropriate".

Osayemi's sample contained traces of banned stimulant methylhexaneamine, which has only recently been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list.

The 24-year-old requested the testing of her B sample after she was provisionally suspended following the initial test. She could now face a two-year ban.

Methylhexaneamine is the same drug several Indian athletes, including weightlifter Sanamacha Chanu and swimmers Richa Mishra and Jyotsana Pansare, were found to have used in September.

Wada subsequently moved it to the non-specified list, meaning it can be used with a therapeutic use exception certificate.

The Indians subsequently appealed against their bans but there has been no verdict yet.

According to companies that market products that contain methylhexaneamine, the drug stimulates the central nervous system.

It gives the body an energy boost by increasing the body's metabolic rate.

After the initial suspension, Nigeria's Athletics Federation president, Solomon Ogba, reportedly claimed Osayemi was given prescription medicine to fight a nagging toothache.

"She took medication for her toothache and we strongly suspect that it was that, which led to her failed drug test," he stated.

The BBC's Steve Cram was not surprised to hear that this particular drug was involved.

"The stimulant she has been caught for has caused problems for athletes over the past year," he said.

"It's a commonly used stimulant as a nasal decongestant and, leading into the Games, there were 11 Indians from different sports who had tested positive for methylhexaneamine, so it's pretty prevalent."

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