Issam Asinga, the teenage star who beat Noah Lyles last summer and ran a U20 world record of 9.89 in the 100m at the 2023 South American Championships, has been banned four years by the Athletics Integrity Unit.

Here’s what you need to know:

– Asinga rose to prominence last outdoor season after beating Noah Lyles in a 100m race in April in a wind-aided 9.83s. The 19-year-old, who represents Suriname internationally, has not competed since winning the 100m and 200m at last July’s South American Championships in São Paulo, Brazil. Following that championship, he was provisionally suspended last August ahead of the World Championships in Budapest.

– He tested positive for the banned substance GW1516, which is classified as a metabolic modulator that can be used to assist in burning fat or an endurance booster. Tests on mice found that the drug could cause cancer.

– Asinga’s ‘B’ sample also tested positive for the drug.

– Asinga and his lawyers claim that he took “recovery gummies” that were given to him by Gatorade for winning the Gatorade Athlete of The Year for track and field in 2023. Asinga provided two unsealed containers of gummies and test results that revealed the presence of GW1516 and GW1516 Sulfoxide. The AIU determined that he “failed to establish on a balance of probabilities that the Gatorade Recovery Gummies were the source of the GW1516 metabolites detected in his 18 July 2023 sample". The full decision can be read here.

– AIU President David Howman said: “This decision upholds an important principle in cases where contamination is claimed. The requirement for athletes to prove how the Substance entered their system must be enforced. This proof must not be based on speculation but on specific, convincing and objective evidence. This strict requirement is essential to protect clean athletes.”

– The AIU has disqualified all of his results from July 18, 2023. This includes his wins at the South American Championships.

– As a result of the DQ, Letsile Tebogo’s 9.91s performance at the 2022 World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia will remain the World U20 record.

– Asinga plans to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Asinga’s Statement:

A spokesperson for Asinga issued the following statement on Monday:

“Since I began competing, I have always been committed to the integrity of my sport. I have been hyper-vigilant and have NEVER used and would NEVER knowingly use any banned substance, risking a promising career and my entire future.

Sadly, in 2023 while I was still a high school senior, Pepsico gave me a Gatorade gift package which contained Gatorade Recovery Gummies, displaying the industry-approved NSF Certified for Sport logo. The containers given to me were later tested at a WADA-accredited laboratory which identified that the product given to me was contaminated with GW1516, the same substance I tested positive for in trace amounts. Further, it turned out that the lot number on the containers given to me was NOT from an NSF-Certified for Sport lot.

While I respect the AIU’s responsibility to protect the sport, I am devastated that they issued the harshest ruling without regard for these facts and the evidence presented, which showed that the product I was given and took the week before my positive test was contaminated. I am even more disheartened by misleading product labeling from a major corporation and their refusal to provide product samples needed to help an athlete they honored as their Gatorade Athlete of the Year.

Even the AIU’s decision says Pepsico must have a sealed container saved from the same lot they gave to me. Based on this decision and the way the AIU is treating me, testing a sealed version from the same lot seems the only way I can clear my name. As the product is now ironically discontinued, there is no way for me to purchase it. Pepsico is solely in control of my ability to test the product and exonerate myself.

My goal has always been to use my gift to follow my dream of a track and field career, continuing my parents’ amazing legacy. I am a young man of integrity.

I will appeal this decision and remain steadfast in proving my innocence and telling the true story.”