Former World Record Sprinter Asafa Powell Has Been Banned for Doping

Jamaican sprinter and former 100 meter world record holder Asafa Powell has been given an 18-month ban for taking the banned stimulant oxilofrine at last year’s Jamaican national championships.

Powell claims the legal supplement he took had been contaminated, and calls the judgment “unfair and unjust.” He plans to appeal the suspension, which has been backdated and will end on Dec. 20.

A series of positive drug cases in recent years, with six athletes caught in 2013 alone, has put a damper on the Caribbean nation’s astonishing successes in track and field of late. On Tuesday, the Jamaican anti-doping disciplinary panel also banned sprinter Sherone Simpson and discus thrower Allison Randall.

Powell’s times of 9.77 and 9.74 propelled him to the 100m world record spot between 2005 and 2008. He has also broken the 10-second barrier more times than any other runner.

[BBC]