CJ Ujah set to blame a labelling error for positive test which could strip GB of 4x100m relay silver

British Olympic sprinter CJ Ujah is expected to argue that a labelling error led to him unwittingly taking two banned substances before helping Team GB to a silver medal in the 4x100m relay.

Ujah, who insisted at the weekend that he was not a cheat, has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for muscle-building ostarine and S-23.

If a back-up sample confirms the drugs’ presence, the 27-year-old’s lawyers are likely to argue that the banned substances were not listed as components in a supplement he took ahead of the final.

The sprinter awaits a B-sample, after he helped GB to win silver in the 4x100m men’s relay 

But even if Ujah proves that he took the drug in error, the chances of him being entirely exonerated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport are slim. 

Hopes of the British relay team holding on to their medal were looking increasingly bleak.

Though Ujah’s relay team-mates have not commented on the development, the brother of Richard Kilty has said that the 31-year-old would be ‘absolutely devastated’ if he were to be stripped of his medal.

Kilty’s brother Kevin said: ‘He has done nothing wrong. He worked so hard for this, ever since he was a little lad.’

Ujah has maintained that he is a clean athlete but is unlikely to keep his silver medal now 

Kilty, Zharnel Hughes and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake all face a nervous wait to see if their Olympic medals will be stripped from them. The process could take a month.

Ujah said in a statement: ‘To be absolutely clear, I am not a cheat and I have never and would never knowingly take a banned substance. I love my sport and I know my responsibilities both as an athlete and as a team-mate.’

lseven-time Olympic gold medallist Jason Kenny has lauded the Government for providing £232million of funding for Paris 2024. ‘I think it is a massively positive thing,’ he said. ‘It gives anyone with a bit of talent a chance to go and perform.’