Jamaican sprinter Nesta Carter is “deeply upset by the decision of CAS to uphold the IOC’s decision to disqualify the results of the 4x100m relay at the 2008 Olympic Games.”
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by the Jamaican sprinter Carter against the decision issued on 25 January 2017 by the International Olympic Committee Disciplinary Panel (IOC DP) in which he was found to have committed an anti-doping rule violation during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (the Beijing Games).
Carter and the Jamaican Men’s 4x100m relay team, after winning gold, were disqualified from the race held at the Beijing Games. All members of the team have already returned their medals.
“I have always been a clean athlete and I would never knowingly do anything to risk my reputation or the reputation of my country, or that would cause pain to Usain, Asafa Powell, Michael Frater and all the Jamaican people,” Carter said in a release.
Usain Bolt, who the third leg on the relay team, commented: “The rules are the rules but at the end of the day the joy of winning that relay gold Medal in Beijing 2008 with my teammates will last forever.”
Nesta Carter Statement
I am deeply upset by the decision of CAS to uphold the IOC’s decision to disqualify the results of the 4x100m relay at the 2008 Olympic Games.
I have always been a clean athlete and I would never knowingly do anything to risk my reputation or the reputation of my country, or that would cause pain to Usain, Asafa, Michael and all the Jamaican people.
The substance that was in my body is now recognised as having been a contaminant in many products and, as CAS accepts, it was not named on the Prohibited List in 2008 and only became known after the 2008 Olympic Games.
Even though I must take responsibility for what has happened, it is difficult to accept that I could be in breach of the rules when, even if I had known I consumed the substance (which I did not), I could not have known at the time that the substance was prohibited.
I am deeply sorry for what has happened and the pain and loss it brings.
