Tyson Gay made his first comments about his suspension Saturday, one day after he received a backdated one-year ban, and hopes to speak in more detail about it soon, perhaps in the next week, he told the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader.
“There’s a lot for me to tell, my side, and I would like to apologize to the city [Lexington] for not being able to speak earlier about the situation,” Gay said, according to the newspaper. “But under the rules of USADA [U.S. Anti-Doping Agency], they didn’t want me to speak on the case. But they definitely understand what happened, and USADA understands that it was a mistake. That’s why they’re allowing me to run this year.”
Gay, the American record holder in the 100m, tested positive three times last year for “an exogenous androgenic anabolic steroid and/or its metabolites,” USADA said, but since the tests were in short succession, they were treated as one failed offense.
The 31-year-old received a one-year ban when he could have been given a two-year ban. His suspension was reduced for “providing substantial assistance to USADA,” the agency said Friday. Still, all of his results since July 15, 2012, were disqualified, and he returned his silver medal from the 4x100m relay from the 2012 Olympics.
A spokesman for the IAAF, track and field’s international governing body, said the entire U.S. 4x100m relay team would be stripped of its silver medals in accordance with its rulebook.
Gay hasn’t competed since he revealed one of his failed drug tests last July. He is eligible to return to competition in late June and could enter the U.S. Championships that begin June 26 if he petitions in, and the petition is granted, according to The Associated Press.
