Another Nigerian athlete fails drugs test

NEW DELHI – A second Nigerian runner at the Commonwealth Games has failed a doping test for the same banned substance.

Commonwealth Games Federation President Mike Fennell said Samuel Okon, who was sixth in the final of the 110-meter hurdles last Friday, had tested positive for the banned stimulant Methylexanemine.’It’s a stimulant,’ Fennell said of the drug, which has also been found in samples from about a dozen Indian athletes in recent months. ‘At this stage I cannot speak very definitively as to where it’s coming from, but it appears to us that it may be coming from the use of supplements.’Okon was scheduled to face a provisional hearing yesterday, but Fennell said he believes Okon has waived the right to have his B sample tested.’This is yet to be confirmed,’ Fennell said.Osayomi Oludamola, the women’s 100 gold medalist in New Delhi, asked for her B sample to be tested after it was announced Monday that her initial sample was positive for the stimulant. She could be stripped of her medal.Fennell said the Nigerian team was investigating.’We have already had discussions with the leadership of the Nigerian team, who are themselves very, very concerned about this matter. We are satisfied that they are taking this very seriously,’ Fennell said. ‘They are very concerned about this and they are doing their own investigations.’The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recently loosened the classification of Methylhexaneamine for next year to the ‘specified stimulant’ list, which covers drugs that are more susceptible to inadvertent use and can carry reduced penalties. Sanctions for use of the drug can be reduced if athletes can prove they did not intend to enhance performance. Penalties can range from a warning to a two-year ban.WADA said Methylhexaneamine was sold as a medicine until the early1970s and has now reappeared in some nutritional supplements and cooking oils.’We ourselves are concerned by the number of incidents that have cropped up with this same substance,’ Fennell said, noting that the change to the WADA list does not go into effect until next year.’Each year, on the first of January, a new list becomes effective. We are operating on the 2010 list,’ Fennell said. ‘Whatever changes were made this year will be effective next year, but we are operating under the 2010 list.’ – Nampa-AP