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Usain Bolt won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics, securing the amazing “triple triple,” but now he’s lost it and it’s not even his fault.
Bolt’s teammate in the 4x100m relay, Nesta Carter was one of 454 selected doping samples retested by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year and has been found to contain the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine, according to BBC.
Carter ran the first leg for Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team in Beijing, which also included Michael Frater, Asafa Powell and Bolt. The team won in a then-world record of 37.10 seconds, ahead of Trinidad and Tobago and Japan, who could have their medals upgraded. Brazil would then receive bronze.
An anomaly was discovered in Carter’s submission following the IOC’s decision to retest 454 samples from Beijing using the latest scientific analysis methods. Carter and the Jamaican National Olympic Committee were told of the adverse finding in May – before the Rio Games – and told his B sample would be tested.
It was reported by Reuters in June that Carter’s A sample contained methylhexanamine, which has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list since 2004. It was reclassified in 2011 as a “specified substance”, meaning one that is more susceptible to a “credible, non-doping explanation”. Sold as a nasal decongestant in the United States until 1983, methylhexanamine has been used more recently as an ingredient in dietary supplements.
Speaking in June, Bolt said the prospect of having to return the gold was “heartbreaking”.
He told the Jamaica Gleaner: “For years you’ve worked hard to accumulate gold medals and you work hard to be a champion, but it’s one of those things.
“I’m more concerned about the athlete and I hope he gets through it.”
