Relay teams qualify for next round

| Tuesday October 12, 2010 00:00

 

The men's team of Isaac Makwala, Sakarea Kamberuka, Tiroyaone Masake, Gakologelwang Masheto and Obakeng Ngwigwa finished third in the heats to qualify for the next round while golden girl Amantle Montsho crossed the line first to lead the women to a win in their heat. The other women in the team are Kgalalelo Sefo, Oarabile Babolai, Lydia Mashila, Goitseone Seleka and Irene Motunge.  The women's team started slowly but soon picked up and Montsho covered for the slow start of the team to finish first. Expectations for medals from the two teams are high.

The women team is tipped to do better with Montsho expected to repeat last week's exploits to win the country another medal.  Meanwhile, reports say that Nigerian sprinter Oludamola Osayomi remains provisionally suspended.

She has to wait until tomorrow morning to discover if she has been stripped of her 100m gold after testing positive for the stimulant methylhexaneamine.

The 100m Commonwealth Games champion appeared before the drugs panel yesterday to explain her drugs result. It is understood she argued that she may have inadvertently taken the drug when receiving medication for a toothache.  But the panel will not release its findings until there is confirmation of the B sample. This is expected by tomorrow morning. England sprinter, Katherine Endacott who got silver may be given the gold if Osayomi is found guilty and stripped of her medal.

A spate of Indian swimmers, wrestlers and Jamaican runners have tested positive to banned drugs in recent times, with most given a three-month suspension.

The drugs increase alertness, aid weight loss.  Energy drinks and prescription drugs sometimes contain traces of the banned substances.

Immediately after the 100m final, the first placed runner Sally Pearson was disqualified for a false start after a protest by the England camp. This elevated Osayemi to the gold medal.

But Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Mike Fennell, who will be on the drugs hearing panel along with four other CGF officials, a legal advisor and a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) observer, said he did not know how much damage the test result will have on the games. Famously, Ben Johnson was stripped of his Seoul Olympic gold medal for testing positive to a steroid back in 1988.

WADA added methylhexaneamine to its banned list this year but has allowed the range of sanctions to be less than the usual two-year ban.

Jamaican athletes Yohan Blake, Marvin Anderson, Allodin Fothergill, Lanceford Spence were initially cleared after testing positive to the same stimulant, but all were then handed three-month bans. (Additional reporting by the Telegraph of Britain)