Tokyo Olympics: Team GB silver medallist CJ Ujah SUSPENDED for doping violation

British sprinter CJ Ujah has been provisionally suspended for an alleged doping violation just one week after playing a role in Team GB’s 4x100m relay silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

In an astonishing development, the Athletics Integrity Unit revealed on Thursday evening that Ujah returned an adverse analytical finding from testing conducted during the Games.

The AIU said they were looking into the presence in the 27-year-old’s sample of two banned substances – the anabolic aid Ostarine and S-23, which aids muscle building.

If the findings lead to a conviction, the relay quartet and Team GB will be faced with the immensely embarrassing scenario of being stripped of the silver medal they won last Friday.

Ujah had led the quartet of himself, Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake out of the blocks in one of the most exhilarating races of the Games. 

Team GB 4x100m relay silver medallist CJ Ujah has been provisionally suspended for an alleged doping violation

Ujah, Zharnel Hughes, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and Richard Kilt won silver in Tokyo

The British team led until the final metres when Mitchell-Blake was passed by Italy’s the Filippo Tortu, costing them a gold medal by only 0.01sec. If they lose the medal, China would be upgraded to bronze. 

Sportsmail understands that figures at UK Athletics were left stunned by the news, which they heard barely an hour prior to the official announcement. 

They will not comment on an active investigation, while there has not yet been a response from Ujah’s representatives.

The UK Anti-Doping Agency (Ukad) website describes Ostarine as having ‘a similar effect to testosterone’, adding: ‘Dietary supplements containing Ostarine typically claim to promote muscle building. Unscrupulous manufacturers may market such products as “legal steroids” or “steroid alternatives”.’

Italy pipped Team GB to the men’s 4x100m Olympic gold medal in a dramatic tight finish

Born in Enfield, north London, Ujah has been one of Team GB’s top track athletes in recent years, with the 27-year-old winning the 4x100m world title in 2017 and then the European title in 2016 and 2018.

He became the fifth and youngest Brit to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m race, with the best time of 9.96 (with a +1.4 tailwind) set in Hengelo, Netherlands in June 2014.

Having grown up in Enfield, Ujah studied mathematics and science at Walthamstow’s Sir George Monoux College before graduating to Middlesex University in London, where he is currently studying sports science.

In 2016, Olympic legend Usain Bolt appeared to give the Brit the cold shoulder before they competed in the the World Championships, which Ujah brushed off in an exclusive interview with Sportsmail.

‘We didn’t chat,’ Ujah said in 2017. ‘I don’t know if it was because of headlines that he maybe saw before. Possibly. Some said something like, “CJ Ujah is going to overthrow Bolt”, but I didn’t say that. 

‘I said he was not the same Bolt that he was years ago, and that the 100 metres was more open. But it got misconstrued and I don’t know if he saw it and thought, “This little kid is arrogant”. In previous years we were talking so I actually think he did see it.

‘When I next see him I will talk to him about that, put it right.’ 

Ujah currently has approximately 27,000 followers on Instagram and is reported to have a net worth of $1million.