Do you still remember 2008 Olympic Games, held at Beijing in Aug, 2008. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 28 sports and 302 events. China became the 22nd nation to host the Olympic Games and the 18th to hold a Summer Olympic Games.
Not many of us may
remember or know that Nesta Carer was (yes, WAS) a Gold medallist. Nesta Carter, a Jamaican sprinter, who
specializes in the 100 metres event, was successful as part of the Jamaican 4 x
100 metres relay team, taking gold and setting successive world records at the
2011 World Championships and 2012 London Olympics. On August 11, 2013, Carter
secured an individual 100m World Championship bronze medal in Moscow, behind
Justin Gatlin and teammate Usain Bolt. He followed this with another gold in
the 4 x 100 metres relay. In August 2010 he became only the fifth sprinter to
run the 100 metres in less than 9.8 seconds.
All that is under a
cloud as he goes under the ice taking a medal off Usain Bolt as well as
today, the International Olympic
Committee sanctioned Carter for doping at the 2008 Olympic Games, meaning that
Carter will lose his gold medal for the Men's 4x100m Relay.
Methylhexanamine
has been on the banned list since 2004 and was reclassified as a specialised
substance in 2011. It is also known as 'DMAA' and can be found in sports
supplements. Until 1983, it was sold as a nasal decongestant in the United
States. The US Food & Drug administration say Methylhexanamine 'narrows
blood vessels and arteries, which can elevate blood pressure, and may lead to
cardiovascular problems such as shortness of breath, arrhythmias, tightening in
the chest, and heart attack, as well as seizures and other neurological and
psychological conditions.' The useful effects mean it helps as a body building
aid and with weight loss.
The IOC have
disqualified Jamaica's Nesta Carter from 2008 Olympic Games, as re-analysis of Nester sample, gave a positive test for
prohibited substance methylhexaneamine. Jamaica have now been stripped of their
medals - with Bolt and Co disqualified. The decision means Bolt's triple-triple
of Olympic gold medals is no more
Bolt is no longer
owner of the hallowed ‘triple-triple’ of Olympic sprint titles and will have to
hand back the 4x100m relay gold medal won at Beijing 2008 alongside Carter. The
Jamaican had realised this was a possibility after it emerged last summer that
Carter had retrospectively failed a drugs test from the Beijing Games nine
years ago. It was the team of Asafa
Powell, Nesta Carter, Usain Bolt and Michael Frater who won there. His worst fears were confirmed when the
International Olympic Committee on Wednesday announced it was to nullify the
result of the Jamaican 4x100m team and reallocate the gold medal to Trinidad
and Tobago.
Japan will now be
promoted to silver and Brazil bronze but the Great Britain team, which was
disqualified in the heats, will be unaffected. Carter ran the first leg for
Jamaica’s 4x100m team and Bolt ran the third on the way to a gold medal inside
Beijing’s Bird Nest stadium where he announced himself as a sprinting
superstar.
There was much
fanfare last summer when Bolt became the first person in history to clinch the
‘triple-triple,’ completing the task with victory in the relay inside Rio’s
Joao Havelange stadium. While Bolt is
faultless in this unfortunate situation, a victim of his team-mate’s cheating,
Carter’s use of performance enhancing drugs again casts a shadow over Jamaica’s
sprint medal factory. In 2013 Veronica
Campbell-Brown, Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson all tested positive leading to
suspicions as to how this tiny island became so dominant on the world stage. Medical
opinion varies as to how potent a drug methylhexanamine is, with one prominent
professor claiming it is only slightly more powerful than a cup of coffee.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
25th Jan 2017. news and photos credit : dailymail.co.uk
