Olympic 2012 silver medallist Nijel Amos has been handed a provisional suspension from athletics after failing a drugs test.
The Botswanan athlete was just 18 years old when he placed second in the 800 m at London 2012, setting a new junior world record of 1:41.73 in the process, which still stands today.
Amos was set to take part in the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Oregon, which begins on Friday, but the 28-year-old has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for GW1516 - a hormone and metabolic modulator - last month.
"The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has today provisionally suspended Nijel Amos of Botswana with immediate effect after a sample collected from the 800m runner tested positive for Metabolites of GW1516, a substance that is prohibited under the 2022 Wada Prohibited List as a metabolic modulator," a statement from the AIU read.
"Substances in this category modify how the body metabolizes fat and GW1516 was originally synthesized and evaluated for the treatment of obesity, diabetes and other disorders caused by metabolic problems. GW1516 is not an approved substance for human use and Wada has advised of its health risks for athletes.
"GW1516 is a non-Specified Substance on the 2022 Wada Prohibited list and a provisional suspension is mandatory following an adverse analytical finding for such substance under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules."
Amos also won the gold medal in the 800 m at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and placed eighth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with a time of 1:46.41.
Ben Knapton
