Olympic and world 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser has tested positive for a tooth painkiller she neglected to list on a doping form, the Jamaican told reporters on Thursday.
She has been provisionally suspended by the IAAF pending a hearing, the sprinter said.
“I have nothing to hide,” a defiant Fraser said after withdrawing from the Lausanne Diamond League meeting.
The positive test was triggered by her failure to list on a doping form at May’s Shanghai Diamond League meeting a painkiller she was given by her coach for a three-day-old severe tooth pain, the 2008 Beijing gold medalist said.
“I will go home [on Friday] and have a hearing before my federation in Jamaica,” she added. “I hope they will accept my explanation.”
IAAF officials could not be reached for comment, but both her agent and coach confirmed the sprinter’s suspension.
Fraser said she had mixed emotions about the positive.
“I take some responsibility because athletes are supposed to be responsible for what they take,” she said.
“But I am upset because everybody is starting to assume I am taking drugs,” Fraser said. “My reputation is ruined somewhat.”
Fraser said she had three teeth filled in Jamaica before flying to Shanghai and had sought help from medical and meeting officials for the resulting pain.
When their medication did not ease the hurt, she had thought of withdrawing from the Shanghai race, she said. But her coach, Stephen Francis, persuaded her to take a painkiller he was taking for kidney stones, Fraser said.
The medication eased the pain, Fraser said, but it caused her to feel weak and run slower than normal in the race.
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