Commonwealth Games Update: Another Athlete Tests Positive for a Banned Substance in the tainted Women's 100m race
Damola Osayemi is a Nigerian sprinter who specialises in the Women’s 100m race. Osayemi won the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games held in Beijing and lifted the hopes of her nation. She recently competed and won the gold medal in the controversy filled
100m race in Delhi during the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
But like many athletes before her and many yet to come, the Nigerian sprinter has tested positive for a banned substance and has been suspended pending the full results of her test. This is yet another case of a promising athlete being tempted to cheat by
the allure of drugs. We will have to wait and see what the future now holds for Damola.
Damola or Oludamola, which is her full name, started running at a young age in Nigeria. She showed a lot of promise and skill and running coaches and the sports association in the country started to take notice of her. She turned professional in the early
2000s and made her first appearance at a large stage at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. She only competed in the 4x100m relay race in which her team came 7th. The next year again she placed 7th in the relay race at the World Championships
in Helsinki.
2007 was a much better year for the Nigerian as she blew the competition away to come 1st in both the 100m and the 200m at the All-Africa Games which were held in Algeria. Then 2008 rolled around and once again she managed to win the 100m race
at the African Championships in Ethiopia along with the 4x100m relay race. Osayemi also managed to win the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games for the 4x100m relay race. She started this year off with a bang, winning the bronze medal at the 2010
African Championships in the 100m race.
She entered the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games with high hopes and she did not disappoint. She ran a very good race and eventually managed to capture the gold medal in the women’s 100m final and it was her crowning achievement for the year. But the party
was not to last; after the race she tested positive for a banned substance. The substance; methylhexaneamine, had only recently been added to the banned list that is maintained by the World Anti-Doping Agency. She was immediately suspended after the race finished
and her initial test results came in and now her future and her standing in the race are all under scrutiny. A lot of speculation is surrounding the runner while the world waits for her full test results.
There are several scenarios that could take place if a positive result does return from the full test being undertaken. Firstly it would mean that Osayemi would be immediately stripped of her gold medal. That would mean that Natasha Mayers would be declared
the winner in what has already been a controversial race. For the Nigerian, she could either be given a warning as this was her first offense and the substance had very recently gone on the prohibited list or she could face a two year ban. Any way it goes,
it will not be good for her.
The women’s 100m race has already seen its fair share of drama. When the race was run a few days ago Sally Pearson was controversially disqualified for false starting after having won the race. With Damola coming in second, she was then bumped up and won
the gold medal instead of the Australian. Now it seems the person who had originally come in third could end up taking the gold medal home. It seems there will be a lot of talk and meetings will be held to try to figure out exactly what went wrong in the women’s
100m race.
Doping is a very big problem in the world of sports and it does not look like it is going to end anytime soon. The governing bodies are doing a credible job of testing athletes and clamping down on offenders all in an effort to rid sports of this menace
which haunts it. The lure of gold and winnings is so high that, sadly, some athletes will continue to exploit the system and try to cheat at every opportunity they can.
Tags: