London (AFP)

Prohibited substances were detected in the second sample of British sprinter Chijindu "CJ" Ujah, silver medalist in the 4x100m relay at the Tokyo Olympics, the International Doping Control Agency (ITA) said on Tuesday.

The announcement means Great Britain has a strong chance of being disqualified from the men's 4x100m relay final and losing their medal behind Italy and ahead of Canada.

China finished 4th in the race.

"The ITA confirms that at the request of the athlete, the sample B was analyzed by the laboratory accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency in Tokyo on August 19 and that this procedure confirmed the result obtained on the sample A, "writes the agency in its press release.

On August 12, Ujah was suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) after the discovery in his body of "prohibited substances ostarine and S-23, which are classified as SARMs (selective androgen receptor modulators) ".

These are substances generally used to increase muscle mass.

The ITA added that it transmitted the case to the anti-doping chamber of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAD TAS) on September 8.

"CAD TAS will investigate the case of the discovery of an anti-doping rule violation and possible disqualification of the British men's 4X100 team," continued ITA.

The anti-doping rules of the International Olympic Committee and the International Athletics Federation (World Athletics) provide for the automatic disqualification of any relay team if one of its members is convicted of violating said rules.

"Once the case has been dealt with in accordance with IOC anti-doping rules, it will be referred to the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) to decide on possible sanctions beyond the Tokyo Olympics. 2020 ", further specifies the Agency in its press release.

For his part, the athlete had vehemently denied these accusations, saying he was "shocked and devastated" by the announcement.

"To be completely clear, I am not a cheater and I have never taken or will never take prohibited substances voluntarily," he assured.

"I love my sport and I know the responsibilities I take on both as an athlete and as a team member," he added.

© 2021 AFP