Glasgow 2014: Nigerian 16-year-old weightlifter Chika Amalaha fails drug test at Commonwealth Games
Chika Amalaha's 'A' sample reveals traces of diuretics and maskings agents
Suspended: Chika Amalaha's test reveals traces of diuretics and maskings agents Photo: GETTY IMAGES
A Nigerian weightlifter has become the first medallist to fail a drugs test at
the Commonwealth
Games in Glasgow after testing positive for two banned substances.
Chika Amalaha, 16, became the youngest woman to win a weightlifting title in
Games history when she took gold in the 53kg category last Friday. However,
the sample she provided afterwards showed traces of amiloride and
hydrochlorothiazide, which are prohibited as diuretics and masking agents
under class five of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list.
A statement from the Commonwealth Games Federation confirmed that Amalaha had
been “issued with a notice of disclosure” and that she had been
provisionally suspended from the Games. It also said that she would pursue
her right to have her B sample tested independently, which will happen at a
London laboratory on Wednesday.
The Nigerian Weightlifting Federation was suspended in 2001 after a succession
of doping violations came to light. As a consequence, none of the
federation’s competitors were allowed to take part in the Commonwealth Games
in Manchester the following year.
Three years ago, a Nigerian newspaper claimed that drug-taking was rife
throughout the country’s sports. After one weightlifting event, the
newspaper reported: “A tour of the stadium revealed discarded cases of used
syringes, empty injectable vials of stanazol and sustanol, packets and
bottles of different anabolic substances.”
If Amalaha’s B sample also produces a positive test result then she will be
stripped of her title and the silver medallist, Dike Toua, of Papua New
Guinea, will be awarded the gold medal instead.
While it is not the route Toua would have wanted, it would be a hugely popular achievement throughout the sport as the 30-year-old is a revered figure in weightlifting circles. At Sydney in 2000 she became the first woman to lift weights in an Olympics event.
Sir Craig Reedie, the Scotsman who chairs Wada, expressed his concern that an athlete such as Amalaha should apparently be taking drugs at such a young age.
“I am very disappointed that somebody as young as that appears to have committed an offence at a multi-sport event like the Commonwealth Games,” Reedie said.
Weightlifting has been at the centre of a number of drugs scandals down the years but Mike Hooper, the CGF chief executive, said that it still had a place in the family of sport.
“I think weightlifting is a fantastic sport and a strong Commonwealth and Olympic sport,” Hooper said. “I think the issue here is about showing we have a robust anti-doping programme in place.”
While it is not the route Toua would have wanted, it would be a hugely popular achievement throughout the sport as the 30-year-old is a revered figure in weightlifting circles. At Sydney in 2000 she became the first woman to lift weights in an Olympics event.
Sir Craig Reedie, the Scotsman who chairs Wada, expressed his concern that an athlete such as Amalaha should apparently be taking drugs at such a young age.
“I am very disappointed that somebody as young as that appears to have committed an offence at a multi-sport event like the Commonwealth Games,” Reedie said.
Weightlifting has been at the centre of a number of drugs scandals down the years but Mike Hooper, the CGF chief executive, said that it still had a place in the family of sport.
“I think weightlifting is a fantastic sport and a strong Commonwealth and Olympic sport,” Hooper said. “I think the issue here is about showing we have a robust anti-doping programme in place.”
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