Katherine Biek
Russia's Doping Scandal Involves Over 1,000 Athletes
The World Anti-Doping Agency took a deep dive into Russia's state-run doping system.
LEARN MOREPosted: 3:02 p.m. EST Jan 25, 2017
Usain Bolt has to hand over one of his Olympic gold medals. And it's all because this guy — Jamaican teammate Nesta Carter — tested positive for a banned substance.
That finding automatically stripped the Jamaican sprint team of their win in the 4x100-meter relay at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Carter was tested and deemed clean prior to the final of that 2008 race. But last year, the International Olympic Committee decided to retest more than 450 samples from the Beijing Games using more advanced methods.
Carter's sample was found to contain methylhexaneamine, which is sometimes used as an ingredient in dietary supplements.
The World Anti-Doping Agency classified methylhexaneamine as a "specified substance" in 2011. That means the WADA recognizes the drug can "enter an athlete's body inadvertently" and allows that to be taken into account when a governing body punishes an athlete accused of doping.
The disqualification means Bolt loses his distinction of being a "triple-triple" winner.
He gained the title at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro after winning all three of his sprint events for the third consecutive Olympic games.
Now that Jamaica is stripped of its gold medal, the Trinidad and Tobago team is now considered the winner of the 2008 relay.
