The British 4x100 meter relay is threatened with the withdrawal of the silver medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo because of a doping case.
As the International Testing Agency (Ita) announced on Tuesday, the B-sample confirmed the suspicion of doping in sprinter Chijindu Ujah.
The 27-year-old athlete had tested positive for two substances that are similar in their effects to anabolic and androgenic steroids.
The B sample confirmed the result of the A sample, Ita announced. The case was therefore forwarded to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) on September 8, which is now to decide on the withdrawal of the silver medal. The case will then be handed over to the Athletics Integrity Unit of the World Athletics Federation, which will decide on Ujah's suspension.
The sprinter himself had denied a doping offense and requested the opening of the B sample. "To be absolutely clear, I am not a fraud," he said in a statement. Ujah is temporarily banned. Because of the doping case, his fellow squadrons Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, Richard Kilty and Zharnel Hughes also lose the silver medal. In the event of a subsequent disqualification, Canada would move to silver behind Italy and China would get bronze. The German quartet would then be fifth instead of sixth.