Usain Bolt Stripped of gold medal after relay teammate Nesta Carter fails drug test

On 25 January, 2017, Usain Bolt lost his claim to the title of ‘triple-triple’ Olympic champion when a Jamaican 4 x 100 metres team-mate retrospectively tested positive for a banned substance and caused the 2008 Beijing gold medal winners to be stripped of their title.

Carter was found in re-tests of his sample to have taken the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Wednesday, meaning Jamaica’s 4x100 metres relay team must give back their gold medals.

Carter’s lawyer, Stuart Stimpson, said the sprinter would lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

“Mr. Carter will be taking his appeal to CAS,” Stimpson told Reuters.

Bolt is considered the greatest sprinter of all time, having won an unprecedented treble of consecutive golds in the 100m, 200m and 4x100 relay in three straight Olympics.

He is also credited with being a key factor in maintaining a global interest in athletics at a time when the sport has been ravaged by doping scandals and a drop in popularity.

Bolt was sleeping after a training session and unavailable to comment on Wednesday but in June, when sources familiar with the case told Reuters that Carter had failed a doping test, he was philosophical about the prospect of losing a gold medal.

“It’s heartbreaking (the positive test) because over the years you’ve worked hard to accumulate gold medals and work hard to be a champion... but it’s just one of those things,” Bolt had told Reuters.

“Things happen in life, so when it’s confirmed or whatever, if I need to give back my gold medal I’d have to give it back, it’s not a problem for me.”