A Jamaican track and field athlete has tested positive for a banned substance and will be removed from the country’s Olympic team.
Mike Fennell, the president of the Jamaica Olympic Association, declined to name the athlete whose sample tested positive from Jamaica’s national athletics trials held last month, but said it wasn’t a “major” member of the Beijing-bound team.
“I have instructed that the athlete in question be withdrawn from the team. He will not compete at the Olympics,” Fennell told The Associated Press.
The development comes less than two weeks before the start of the Aug. 8-24 Summer Olympics.
Under rules of the International Association of Athletics Federations, athletes testing positive for banned substances have two weeks to submit their backup “B” sample for tests. If the “B” sample is also tainted, the athlete faces a two-year ban.
Fennell said a final report from the IAAF was expected later Monday.
Adrian Lorde, president of the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organization, recently criticized Jamaica for not having enough doping tests.
Fennell dismissed that claim, saying 96 tests have been conducted on athletes in Jamaica so far this year.