Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee [TTOC] chairman Brian Lewis has suggested that celebrations on officially receiving the 4x100m relay medal from the 2008 Beijing Games would be muted as T&T’s gain had been Jamaica’s loss.
On Thursday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS] voted to reject an appeal from Jamaica sprinter Nesta Carter, who returned a positive test for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine, in 2016, after the samples were subject to re-testing.
The finding saw the Jamaica relay team, which also consisted of Michael Frater, Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt, stripped of the gold medal and record. The win was instead awarded to the T&T team which consisted of Marc Burns, Keston Bledman, Richard Thompson and Emmanuel Callender. Japan and Brazil were confirmed as the silver and bronze medal winners, respectively.
Carter, appealed the ruling in February but the CAS rejection all but confirms that the upgraded results will stand.
While insisting that he would await official word from the IAAF, Lewis insisted the moment was a bittersweet one.
“It will always be a bitter sweet scenario because we are one Caribbean people,” Lewis told T&T Newsday.
“The T&T Olympic Committee, which is in fact the de facto national anti-doping organisation at this point in time, remains firmly committed to clean sport and clean athletes,” he added.
Source: SportsMax
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