EUGENE, Oregon (July 13) — Nijel Amos has been provisionally suspended ahead of this week’s World Athletics Championships after the Botswanan 800m runner tested positive for a banned metabolite, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) released on Tuesday.
Amos won a silver medal in the men’s 800m at the London 2012 Olympic Games. It was Botswana’s first Olympic athletics medal. Read Also: Mark Rowland leaves Nike Oregon Track Club Elite for Athletics Canada position
The 28-year-old was notified of the result while preparing for the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, where he was slated to contest the two-lap event next week.
A statement released by AIU said read: “The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has today provisionally suspended Nijel Amos of Botswana with immediate effect after a sample collected from the 800m runner tested positive for Metabolites of GW1516, a substance that is prohibited under the 2022 WADA Prohibited List as a metabolic modulator.
“Substances in this category modify how the body metabolizes fat and GW1516 was originally synthesized and evaluated for the treatment of obesity, diabetes and other disorders caused by metabolic problems.
“GW1516 is not an approved substance for human use and WADA has advised of its health risks for athletes.
“GW1516 is a non-Specified Substance on the 2022 WADA Prohibited list and a provisional suspension is mandatory following an adverse analytical finding for such substance under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules.”
Amos, who is the third-fastest man in the 800m with his lifetime best of 1:41.73 done to cope the silver medal behind David Rudisha of Kenya who ran the world record of 1:40.91 for the gold.
Amos went to Oregon with a season-best time of 1:44.92 and last ran in the Diamond League meeting in Rabat when he clocked 1:45.66.
Reuters reported that attempts to contact Amos were not fruitful.
The World Athletics Championships 2022 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, will run from 15-24 July.
PHOTO: Nijel Amos in the 800m at the Birmingham Grand Prix. Photo: Dave Collier
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