Usain Bolt has been stripped of one of his Olympic medals, but it’s not the world record holder’s fault.
Bolt had previously laid claim to the title of ‘triple-triple’ Olympic champion after gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m at three successive Olympic games.
But one of those medals – attained in the relay in 2008 – has been taken away after a teammate failed a drug test.
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Nesta Carter, who was also part of the victorious relay team at the London games in 2012, has been sanctioned for a doping violation, the International Olympic Committee have confirmed.
Carter, now 31 years old, was found to have tested positive for prohibited substance methylhexaneamine after a reexamination of his test samples.
According to a statement from the body, Carter has been personally disqualified and ordered to return his medal, while the Jamaican team has been disqualified from the event in question.
It's official: Usain Bolt is no longer a triple-triple Olympic champion. Nesta Carter banned for doping in 2008 & Jamaica stripped of gold.
— Ben Bloom (@benbloomsport) January 25, 2017
The move comes after samples from the Beijing games were retested, and Carter – plus teammates Bolt, Michael Frater and Asafa Powell – aren’t the only ones affected.
Another Olympian, Russia’s Tatiana Lebedeva, won silver in the long jump and triple jump in 2008. However, she has also been stripped of her medals, with the IOC revealing that she tested positive for banned substance dehydrochlormethyltestosterone.
