Britain’s Ujah ‘shocked and devastated’ by positive drugs test, denies wrongdoing

OLYMPIC silver medallist Chijindu Ujah has denied wrongdoing and said he is “shocked and devastated” after a positive drugs test.

Ujah, 27, ran the first leg as Great Britain’s 4x100m men’s relay team narrowly missed out on gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

He has been provisionally suspended after a test showed the “presence/use” of two prohibited substances.

“To be absolutely clear, I am not a cheat,” said Ujah in a statement to the PA news agency on Saturday.

“I have never and would never knowingly take a banned substance.”

Ujah was informed on Thursday of an “adverse analytical finding” – the presence/use of prohibited substances ostarine and S-23, which are selective androgen receptor modulators and help with building muscle.

If the case against him is proved, the British relay quartet – also including Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake – are likely to be stripped of their silver medals.

In his statement, Ujah said: “It’s taken me a few days to process the information I received on Thursday, shortly before it was made public.

“I am completely shocked and devastated by this news.

“I love my sport and I know my responsibilities both as an athlete and as a team-mate.

“I am respecting the formal processes and will not be making any further comment until it is appropriate to do so.”

The British sprinters lost out by just one hundredth of a second as they were beaten by the Italian team.

Ujah can request analysis of his B sample. Should that confirm the adverse analytical finding, the case will be referred to the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

BBC Sport