Jamaica have left 200m national champion Steve Mullings out of their 50-member team for the world championships starting in Daegu, South Korea, on Aug. 27 after local media reported the sprinter had failed a doping test.
Jamaican officials confirmed Mullings, the year’s third-fastest sprinter in the 100m, had been suspended from the team headlined by triple Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt, but declined to elaborate on what grounds.
“Because of the outstanding issue surrounding Mr Mullings he had to be omitted from the team,” Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) executive member and treasurer Ludlow Watts said. “However, if the matter is resolved in his favor, there is a provision where he can be reinstated at a later date.”
JAAA general secretary Garth Gayle said Mullings had been omitted “because of his suspension.”
The anti-Doping commission last week said a track and field athlete had tested positive at national trials for the world championships, but did not release a name.
Jamaica athletics sources with knowledge of the issue confirmed that Mullings was the athlete who had failed the doping test.
Mullings, a member of Jamaica’s gold medal-winning 4x100m relay team at the 2009 world championships in Berlin, was fastest in the 200m and placed third in the 100m in Jamaica’s trials in June.
He had been expected to join defending champion Bolt in the 100m and 200m, and to help Jamaica defend their 4x100m relay title.
The team, announced on Monday, did not specify which events Bolt or any of the other athletes would contest at the Aug. 27 to Sept. 4 world championships.
Asafa Powell, the former world record holder and world bronze medalist, was included and should be one of Bolt’s biggest challengers in the 100m.
Reigning world champions Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (100m), Brigitte Foster-Hylton (100m hurdles) and Melaine Walker (400m hurdles) were also included in the team, along with Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown.
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
SEMI-FINAL SWEEP: Taiwanese are to take up all four berths in the men’s doubles semi-finals, while three Taiwanese women’s doubles pairings secured spots Taiwan’s badminton ace Chou Tien-chen stayed hot as he secured a semi-final berth in the men’s singles at the US Open at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Friday. Chou entered the Super 300 tournament as the top seed and breezed past Victor Lai of Canada 21-19, 21-8 in 37 minutes, advancing to the semi-finals for the second straight tournament. Earlier this month, the 35-year-old veteran finished runner-up at the Indonesia Open, becoming the oldest male shuttler to reach a Super 1000-level final. He was set to face Ayush Shetty of India last night after press time for a spot in the final. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Taiwanese
PROMISING TALENT: Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso was pleased with youngster Gonzalo’s performance and compared him to former ‘Los Blancos’ great Raul Spanish giants Real Madrid on Tuesday beat Juventus 1-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final clash against Borussia Dortmund, who edged Mexican side Monterrey. Serhou Guirassy struck twice for the German outfit as they scraped past Sergio Ramos’ side 2-1 in a tight last-16 clash in Atlanta, Georgia, and denied the former Real Madrid skipper a matchup against his former team. Youngster Gonzalo Garcia headed home his third goal of the tournament to help Madrid edge Italian side Juventus at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami earlier. It was an impressive display from Xabi Alonso’s Madrid side,
RSS