The chairman of the British Olympic Association says it is “tragic” that CJ Ujah’s relay team-mates could lose their silver medals as a result of the sprinter’s anti‑doping rule violation.
Ujah has been provisionally suspended after a test showed the “presence/use” of two prohibited substances.
He was part of GB men’s 4x100m relay team which won silver at Tokyo 2020.
“It’s absolutely tragic for the other members of the relay team,” Sir Hugh Robertson told The Times.
“It is very disappointing news but he remains innocent until proven guilty and we will absolutely respect the process.”
Ujah, 27, ran the opening leg as he, Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake missed out on the Olympic 4x100m title by just a hundredth of a second in Tokyo earlier this month.
The rules state that in instances where an athlete who has committed an anti‑doping rule violation competed as a member of a relay team, all members of the team are automatically disqualified and therefore lose their medals.
Speaking on BBC Radio Four, Robertson said: “You feel desperately sorry for them [his team-mates].
“I am feeling enormously disappointed. That’s inevitable when you come off a great high like we’ve had with the Olympics. The team performed wonderfully. This of course is one instance but it is a serious issue.
“We have to be honest about it, respect the process and the outcome and if something has gone wrong we have to do everything possible to put it right.”
The British 100m champion, who has yet to comment, tested positive for ostarine and S23 – Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators, which are designed to have similar effects to testosterone.
Ujah can request analysis of his B sample. Should that confirm the Adverse Analytical Finding, the case will be referred to the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs, who claimed a shock Olympic 100m gold, said on Friday that the suspension of Britain’s Ujah “makes me smile a little”.
“A week ago they said so many things about me that were not true, and they have the relay runner with a positive result in their own backyard,” he added.
