CJ Ujah has told his Olympic relay team-mates he would never have gone to Tokyo if he had knowingly taken a performance enhancing substance.
The Team GB 4x100m quartet initially claimed silver last summer, having been edged out in a thrilling final leg by Italy. Ujah, 28, had handed over the baton with his team in front after the first leg, a lead they maintained until Filippo Tortu chased down Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake in the closing stages.
But then came the devastating news that Ujah had tested positive for the banned substance S-23 and Enobosarm. He was provisionally suspended before it was confirmed his B sample was also positive, with the team officially disqualified and ordered to hand back their medals in February.
Ujah has since revealed how a basic amino acid supplement, bought off Amazon for £10 during lockdown, caused his positive test in Tokyo. On Monday, he was suspended for 22 months, with the Athletics Integrity Unit showing leniency after accepting his explanation his transgression was unintentional.
Richard Kilty has previously taken aim at Ujah, saying his actions left him "heartbroken." Zharnel Hughes however, has taken a more sympathetic stance, saying he forgives his fellow athlete and conceding nothing can be done to alter what's happened.
And in an interview with the Guardian, Ujah explained the message he sent to his three compatriots after costing them a medal: “I told them: ‘Listen. I wouldn’t jump on a flight to Tokyo knowing I could put you in a bad position." he said. "I wouldn’t do that’.”
Ujah had been taking the prohibited supplement for weeks before the Olympics, but having been drug tested three months before the Games, the findings weren't released until after the competition. And the London-born star admits he wishes the adverse results had been revealed before he boarded the plane.
“You know what?" he said. "I wish I had been tested right before the Olympics, so that I never went. That way, I would never have put these other three guys, my teammates, through what they went through as well as myself.”
Ujah, who was part of the relay quartet that won World Championship gold in 2017, has had his ban backdated to August 2021. Therefore, he will be eligible to compete again in June 5 2023.
