Star sprinter in drugs scandal

JAMAICA’S Veronica CampbellBrown has tested positive for a banned drug and won’t defend her 200-metre world title this year, according to Jamaican media.

The Gleaner newspaper and Television Jamaica both reported that the sprinter tested positive for the banned diuretic lasix, although an official with the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association said the federation had been notified only that a Jamaican athlete’s “A” sample had tested positive.

The government minister with responsibility for sports, Natalie Neita Headley, stressed the country’s commitment to anti-doping and urged star athletes to “remain focused” ahead of Jamaica’s world championship trials from June 21-23.

“We await the outcome of the due process. We continue to be proud of our rich sporting history and tradition and of all of our athletes who give of their best in representing Jamaica in the various sporting disciplines locally and internationally,” she said.

“We encourage our athletes to remain focused and disciplined during this time of the staging of our national Junior and Senior Championships. As a country, we are committed to our anti-doping programme and the preservation of integrity in sport.”

The Gleaner reported that the sample in question was provided by Campbell-Brown at the Jamaica Invitational on May 4 at Kingston.

Campbell-Brown has withdrawn from the June 29 Edmonton International Track Classic in Canada and will not compete in the Jamaican national championships next weekend or the world championships at Moscow in August, The Gleaner reported.

Campbell-Brown, 31, won Olympic 200m gold in 2004 at Athens and 2008 at Beijing but finished fourth last year at the London Games behind reigning champion Allyson Felix of the United States. In all, she has collected 16 medals for Jamaica in world and Olympic meets. — Sapa-AFP