Nijel Amos of Botswana, who won the bronze medal in the 800m at the 2012 Olympics in London, has been handed a three-year ban by the Athletic Integrity Unit (AIU) after being suspended in July 2022 for a positive drug test, according to Inside the Games. Amos was found to have used GW1516, which enhances performance by changing how the body metabolizes fat.
#Botswana‘s #London2012 #Olympics men’s 800m silver medallist Nijel Amos has been banned for three years by the #Athletics Integrity Unit, with #Kenya‘s Esther Macharia also banned and #Morocco‘s Samir Jouaher provisionally suspendedhttps://t.co/CgrRaNj6lr
— insidethegames (@insidethegames) May 3, 2023
GW1516 was originally developed to treat obesity and diabetes, but is not approved for human use, since it was discovered to be carcinogenic. It is banned in and out of competition, and not eligible for Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). A USADA bulletin from 2019 says GW1516 is also sometimes known as cardarine or endurobol and has been found in some supplements, even though it is illegal.
The AIU collected the sample from Amos during an out-of-competition test on June 4, 2022. Amos was notified of the result while he was preparing for the World Championships in Eugene, Ore., where he was scheduled to compete in the heats of the 800m; he finished eighth in the 800m final at Tokyo 2020.
Amos’s silver in the 800m from the London Olympics was Botswana’s first Olympic medal and ranks as the third-fastest 800m time ever (1:41.73) behind world record holder David Rudisha (1:40.91) and Wilson Kipketer (1:41.11), both of Kenya.
Esther Macharia of Kenya was also issued a four-year ban after testing positive for testosterone; Macharia finished fourth at the 2022 Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn. with a time of 2:27:15. She won the 2022 Standard Charter Singapore Marathon in 2:45:09.
Samir Jouaher of Morocco, who won this year’s Riyadh Marathon in 2:08:42, has also been provisionally suspended.
