Usain Bolt could be stripped of gold medal after Jamaican team-mate Nesta Carter allegedly fails 2008 drug test

Carter was part of the 4x100m relay team that won gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing

(L-R) Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell celebrate Jamaica's 4x100m relay victory in 2008 (Getty)

Usain Bolt is at risk of being stripped of one of his 2008 Olympic gold medals after a Jamaican team-mate tested positive for a banned substance, according to Reuters.

Nesta Carter, who was part of the 4x100m Jamaican relay team in Beijing, is reported to have returned a positive ‘A’ sample for the banned stimulant Methylhexanamine during the recent re-tests of 454 samples taken from the 2008 Olympic Games, which have returned 32 positive drug tests after undergoing re-evaluation with the latest anti-doping technology. Two sources close to the case have informed Reuters that the Jamaican athlete known to have failed a drug test in the 32 identified cases is Carter.

Carter will face sanctions only if his ‘B’ sample returns a positive test, but should it do so, all members including 100m world record holder Bolt would be stripped of their gold medals.

Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) president Michael Fennell said on Friday that the organisation had not received "any official communication concerning reports in the media about the 'B' sample testing of any athlete", while the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association president Warren Blake added that the organisation had not been notified of any rule violation.

Carter ran the third leg in the 4x100m relay semi-final alongside Michael Frater, Dwight Thomas and Asafa Powell, with Thomas replaced by Bolt for the final and Carter switching to the first leg. Jamaica went on win the final in a world record time, finishing ahead of Trinidad and Tobago and Japan.

Bolt has six Olympic gold medals to his name, having won the individual 100m and 200m events along with the 4x100m relay at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. Frater, Thomas and Powell would also stand to lose their gold medals if Carter is foudn to have failed the 'B' sample. Carter was also part of the London 2012 4x100m relay alongside Bolt, Frater, Yohan Blake and Kemar Bailey-Cole, though there is no suggestion that he has returned a positive drug test from the Olympic Games four years ago.

Neither Carter nor his agent were reachable when the Independent tried to contact them.