Athletics: Collins keeps gold despite positive test

Kim Collins narrowly escaped losing his 100 metres gold medal yesterday when he and his federation were officially warned by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) over a doping technicality.

The 26-year-old sprinter from the Caribbean island of St Kitts and Nevis, who has been a regular on the circuit in recent years since basing himself at Texas Christian University, produced a positive sample of salbutamol, a drug used by asthma sufferers, after winning last Saturday's final.

Where Collins and his federation erred was in not letting the doping authorities know of his condition before he competed. Instead, Collins informed them as they were preparing to carry out his routine test following his victory in a race where Britain's Dwain Chambers and Mark Lewis-Francis both fell out of contention with cramp.

The CGF said in a statement last night: "The use of salbutamol is permitted under certain conditions and the level found in Mr Collins' sample was consistent with normal therapeutic use and was not considered to be performance-enhancing. Upon considering the report from the acting medical adviser, the Federation Court came to the unanimous decision that the athlete should not be penalised."

The federation added: "The athlete confirmed that he had been diagnosed with asthma and had been using the medication for some time. He confirmed he had consistently declared such use when tested in and out of competition.

The federation took no action against Collins because it was the team management and his Olympic committee who had failed to submit the declaration.

Dick Pound, the Canadian lawyer who is one of the most senior international Olympic Committee members and head of the world Anti-Doping Agency, commented: "If he had previously not declared it, that's technically breaking the rules. He would have been asked to provide proof such as family case histories and medical records in order for his explanation to be accepted."

Collins said: "This has taught me a powerful lesson and one that all athletes should learn from. This is my future and I will take personal responsibility for making sure all competition requirements are met. I would like to thank the Commonwealth Games Federation for the very fair manner in which this matter has been dealt with."