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The
prized gold medal and the tag as the fastest female sprinter currently
hanging around Damola Osayomi’s neck are now objects of controversy as
she remains provisionally suspended. The Business Administration
graduate of University Of Texas, El Paso has to wait until Wednesday
morning to discover if she will be stripped of her 100m gold medal
after testing positive for the stimulant, methylhexamine.

The situation in
the Nigeria camp as described by the leader of the Nigerian delegation
to the games is that of shock and disappointment.

Elias Usman Gora,
chef de mission of the Nigeria team, told Reuters that he, like others,
remain “shocked and disappointed.” at the development.

“We brought our
athletes here to compete and in the right spirit,” he said. “It is very
unfortunate if the second test also comes out positive.

“We had done out of
competition testing on most of our athletes before coming here, except
a few who joined us directly from the United States and Canada. Osayemi
happens to be one of the few who joined us from the United States.

“She has been a good athlete and had no problems with doping ever. I just don’t know what happened.”

Osayomi explains

Osayomi said
through the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) that the result
stemmed from prescription medicine given to her for a toothache and
that she will contest the results if they are not favourable.

In the event that
she loses her medal, Osayomi has the right to take her case to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport to seek redress.

The panel set up
to investigate the drug case said it will not release its findings
until there is confirmation of the B sample which will only be made
public tomorrow.

Medals chase continues

Despite the drug
scandal, Team Nigeria continued the quest for medals as the women’s
4x400m relay team made up of the quartet of Abugan Folashade, Margaret
Etim, Bukola Agbojuloko and Josephine Ehigie have booked a place in the
today’s final of the relay event.

The quartet will
however have to step up their game if they desire a podium finish.
Their qualification time of 3.35.70mins falls short of a medal finish.
It was the fourth fastest time returned; amongst the eight finalists.

Sadly, Nigeria was
not represented in the male version as the country’s quarter-milers
were all dropped just before the Games owing to poor times returned at
the trials conducted by the AFN.

There was also no
song of victory for Nigeria in the women’s 100m hurdles event final as
the hopes for a medal hit the rocks when the country’s sole
representative in the finals, Seun Adigun, finished in a disappointing
sixth postion.

Adigun, who currently wears the African crown in the same event
after emerging tops at the Africa championships, failed to replicate
her blistering form at the Delhi Games