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The American 100-meter record holder Tyson Gay tested positive for a banned substance and said he will pull out of the world championships next month in Moscow.
The American sprinter Tyson Gay admitted Sunday that he had tested positive for a banned substance and would pull out of the world championships in Moscow next month.
Gay would not reveal the substance in a phone conversation from Amsterdam on Sunday, but he said he was notified by the United States Anti-Doping Agency late last week that a sample came back positive from a May 16 out-of-competition test. He said he will have his B sample tested soon, possibly as early as this week.
Gay, a 30-year-old specialist in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash, has been a leading American in the event for years, but has trailed the Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt in international competition. Gay, who holds the American record in the 100, has enjoyed a strong season after being plagued by injuries, which was leading to a face-off between him and Bolt at the world championships.
“I don’t have a sabotage story. I don’t have any lies. I don’t have anything to say to make this seem like it was a mistake or it was on USADA’s hands, someone playing games,” said Gay, who fought back sobs as he spoke. “I don’t have any of those stories. I basically put my trust in someone and I was let down.”
“I don’t have a sabotage story,” Gay told The Associated Press on Sunday. “I don’t have any lies. I don’t have anything to say to make this seem like it was a mistake or it was on Usada’s hands, someone playing games,” said Gay, who according to The Associated Press report, fought back sobs as he spoke. “I don’t have any of those stories. I basically put my trust in someone and I was let down.”
Asked who that person was, Gay replied: “I can’t really say it. Sometimes a human being naturally, generally trusts somebody. That’s what people do.”
Gay told The Associated Press that he would have his “B” sample tested, and that he would pull out of this week’s meet in Monaco while he awaited the results.
A triple world champion in 2007, Gay was healthy again this season after being constantly plagued by hamstring and groin ailments, along with a surgically repaired hip. He won the 100 and 200 at nationals last month, setting up an anticipated showdown with Usain Bolt at worlds.
He is the latest in a string of prominent track athletes to be linked to the use of performance-enhancing substances in a sport that has been plagued by doping scandals.
But that has been scrubbed. Gay also said he will pull out of a meet in Monaco and fly back to the headquarters of USADA in Colorado Springs, Colo., to be on hand when his B sample is tested.
“USA Track & Field is strongly opposed to doping,” Max Siegel, USA Track & Field’s chief executive, said in a statement Sunday. “And we respect the work that Usada has done as a leading agency globally in the fight against drugs in sport. We do not know the facts of this case and look to Usada to adjudicate it and handle it appropriately. It is not the news anyone wanted to hear, at any time, about any athlete. As we approach the world championships, we will remain focused on the competition at hand and winning the right way.”
A few years ago, Gay was part of USADA’s program called “My Victory,” where athletes pledge to compete clean. In his testimonial on the website, Gay said, “I compete clean because I really believe in fairness, and besides that, my mom would kill me! Just being honest.”
A representative for Gay did not immediately respond to request for comment.
He has spoken with his teammates, friends and family, including his mother and daughter.
Earlier this month, Gay ran the 100 meter in 9.79 seconds at a meet in Lausanne, Switzerland. Gay was the world champion in 2007. Gay was among the athletes who participated in Usada’s My Victory antidoping program which promoted clean competition.
“They already know it is some type of accident, or some type of — I don’t want to use certain words, to make it seem like an accident, because I know exactly what went on, but I can’t discuss it right now,” he said. “My career and my name have always been better than medals or records or anything like that. I’ve always wanted a clean name with anything. Unfortunately, I have to break this news, that I have a positive A sample.”
In a statement, USATF CEO Max Siegel, the chief executive officer of U.S.A. Track and Field, said: “It is not the news anyone wanted to hear, at any time, about any athlete.”
Siegel added: “We do not know the facts of this case and look to USADA to adjudicate it and handle it appropriately.”
Gay wouldn’t go into specifics about the case, saying he couldn’t “discuss it” when asked if what he tested positive for was a steroid.
“I have to go over everything with USADA first,” said Gay, who finished fourth at the London Games last summer. “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.
“I’m going to be honest with USADA, about everything, everybody I’ve been with, every supplement I’ve ever taken, every company I’ve ever dealt with, everything.”
