Accomplished track Olympians Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell and Sherrone Simpson test positive for banned substances
Tyson Gay, who won silver in London for the U.S. in the 4x100m relay, was one of three track and field stars who admitted they tested positive for banned substances. Asafa Powell, who won gold for Jamaica in the Beijing Olympics, and Sherone Simpson, a three-time Olympic medalist from Jamaica, were the other two. This comes on the heels of the positive test last month by Jamaican gold medalist Veronica Campbell-Brown.
Track and field world championships are next month in Moscow, and both Gay and Powell said they will not compete. Gay's B-sample still has to be tested, but he promised to take his punishment. He said he put his trust in the wrong person.
“I don’t have any lies,” Gay told The Associated Press on Sunday. “I don’t have anything to say to make this seem like it was a mistake. I will take whatever punishment I get like a man. I do realize and respect what I put in my body, and it is my responsibility.”
On Monday, Italian police raided the hotel rooms of Powell and Simpson and seized substances that will be tested to find out if they are illegal.
This could not come at a worse time for track and field. Campbell-Brown's positive test was front page news in sprint-crazy Jamaica, the home of world record sprinter Usain Bolt. Now Simpson and Powell are in the same predicament. Gay is the most talented and well-known sprinter the U.S. has to offer, and now he won't be at the world championships.