cannabisnews.com: Sotomayor Fails Drug Test!





Sotomayor Fails Drug Test!
Posted by FoM on August 05, 1999 at 07:56:43 PT
Scott Edmonds,The Canadian Press
Source: Ottawa Citizen
WINNIPEG -- Adding another doping twist to the Pan American Games, Cuban high jump star Javier Sotomayor was stripped of his gold medal yesterday after testing positive for cocaine. 
The Games top medical official said the cocaine ingestion was recent. "When we found cocaine in the urine, ingestion should be within four to five days," said Eduardo de Rose. "More than that we would not find it. "We found cocaine, not just the metabolic, which shows ingestion was recent." Sotomayor, 31, is one of the biggest names in track and field. He holds the world record both outdoors (2.45 metres) and indoors (2.43 metres). The sanction bumps Canada up on the men's high jump podium. Sotomayor won his fourth consecutive Pan Am gold medal with a leap of 2.30 metres, topping Kwaku Boateng of Montreal and Mark Boswell of Brampton, Ont., who tied for the silver at 2.25 metres. Now they will both get golds with American Charles Clinger getting the bronze. Unlike Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati's positive test for marijuana at the 1996 Nagano Olympics, cocaine is seen as more than a "social drug" in amateur sports circles. It is considered a stimulant. "The medal will not go back to him," said Mario Vazquez Rana, president of the Pan American Sports Organization that oversees the Games. "Cocaine to us is a banned substance and it is therefore a violation and an infringement of our rules," he added. The Cuban team said Sotomayor ingested the cocaine while drinking a medicinal tea. Sotomayor, considered Cuba's most popular athlete, won the 1992 Olympic gold medal, the '93 and '97 world outdoor championships, and the 1989, '93, '95 and '99 world indoor championships. He was ranked No. 1 in the world in 1988-89, 1992-95 and 1997-98. Thursday August 05, 1999 Copyright 1999 Ottawa Citizen Goalie's Positive Test Disqualifies Canadians - 8/02/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2320.shtml
END SNIP -->
Snipped
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: