3 May 2023
Botswana’s Nijel Amos, an Olympic 800m silver medallist in 2012, has been banned for three years after testing positive for metabolites, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced Wednesday.
The 29-year-old tested positive for metabolites during an out-of-competition urine test in June 2022 and was provisionally suspended a month later, meaning he missed out on the world championships in Eugene.
The type of metabolities found in his sample, GW1516, “modifies how the body metabolises fat,” the AIU said.
“It was originally synthesised and evaluated for the treatment of obesity, diabetes and other disorders caused by metabolic problems but is now not approved for human use.”
The three-year ban rules Amos out of competition until July 2025, meaning the Botswana national will miss the 2024 Paris Olympics. Amos is the third fastest runner over 800m of all time, having run 1min 41.73sec when winning silver behind David Rudisha at the London Olympics, when the Kenyan set the world record of 1:40.91.
Tebogo leaves home fans on a high at Botswana Golden Grand Prix with super-fast 200m
Meantime, Nineteen-year-old sprint phenomenon Letsile Tebogo ensured that the Botswana Golden Grand Prix – the first World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting to be held in Southern Africa – ended on a high for home fans in Gaborone with a storming 200 metres win on Saturday April 29.
Tebogo had to settle for second place in an earlier race over the shorter distance, but that proved to be an ideal preparation for the longer sprint an hour later, where the world under-20 100m record holder won in 19.87sec, taking 0.09 off his previous best of 19.96 set in securing silver at last year’s World U20 Championships in Cali.
It was the perfect finale for the second Continental Tour Gold meeting of the season as he finished clear of Canada’s Aaron Brown, who won world 4x100m gold in Oregon last summer, and clocked 20.00.
Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh was third in 20.14.
“In the 200m, my body wasn’t responding, but I’m proud of it because it shows me that I can keep pushing forward,” said the two-time world under-20 100m champion after celebrating with spectators on his victory lap.
“At the curve, I was neck-to-neck with Aaron Brown, but in the last 50 metres I had that one last kick, and I managed to finish the race.
“I’m really happy for the crowd, because it shows that Botswana people love sport. They should always come in numbers, so that they can make the sport grow.”
Tebogo clocked a wind-assisted 9.91 (2.3m/s) in the earlier 100m, equalling his legal personal best and finishing runner-up to Kenya’s African record-holder Ferdinand Omanyala, who ran 9.78.
Olympic and world 200m silver medallist Kenny Bednarek of the United States, who like Tebogo was racing his first 100m of the season, finished third in 10.02.
Sources: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230503-botswana-800m-specialist-amos-gets-3-year-ban-for-metabolites-use & https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1136497/botswana-continental-tour-gold-tegobo
