Jamaica-born Swiss sprinter Alex Wilson to miss Olympics through suspension
This comes after a provisional suspension handed to Wilson by Anti-Doping Switzerland was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Wilson, a bronze medalist in the 200 metres at the 2018 European Championships, was handed the mandatory provisional suspension after an out-of-competition sample collected from him on March 15th revealed the presence of a metabolite, trenbolone, an anabolic steroid.
The Swiss sprinter blamed the presence of the prohibited substance on the consumption of contaminated beef he ate at a Jamaican Restaurant in the USA. Wilson then challenged the ruling at the Swiss Olympic Disciplinary Chamber and was successful, as they arrived at a ruling to lift his suspension on July 2nd.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), acting on behalf of World Athletics, along with WADA then successfully filed an application against the Disciplinary Chamber’s decision requesting that the provisional suspension be reinstated.
Head of the AIU, Brett Clothier, had this to say about the situation.
“We were not satisfied with the national-level decision to lift the mandatory provisional suspension and so together with WADA we appealed the decision. This case reflects the AIU’s commitment to protecting the interests of clean athletes and ensuring a level-playing field in Tokyo.”
Wilson turned heads in the track and field world at the Georgia Games on July 18th with massive lifetime bests of 9.84 in the 100 metres and 19.84 in the 200 metres.