Jamaica take drug-test sprinters out of the relay

The hokey-cokey concerning the five Jamaican athletes who tested positive for drugs last month continued at the World Championships yesterday.

Sprinters Yohan Blake, Marvin Anderson and Sheri-Ann Brooks, as well as Allodin Fothergill and Lansford Spence, had all been given clearance by the International Association of Athletics Federations to compete for their country in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays here in Berlin pending an appeal. However, Nick Davies, communications director for the IAAF, said yesterday: "Jamaica will not enter these athletes. They will not be running."

It came as another twist to a saga that has been zig-zagging since news that the five had tested positive for the stimulant methylxanthine broke during the Aviva London Grand Prix meeting at Crystal Palace a month ago. Asked whether it had been a Jamaican decision to remove the quintet from the relay teams, Davies replied: "Yes."

The IAAF also announced the results of anti-doping tests conducted on the finalists in the men's 100m final. "We have received confirmation that the 100m men's final results have all been totally cleared," Davies said. "We also checked whether anyone had been positive in any previous round and in previous competition this season. That is all negative."