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Report: Tyson Gay failed multiple drug tests this year

Tyson Gay

Tyson Gay of the U.S. reacts after finishing fourth in the men’s 100m final during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in this August 5, 2012 file photo. U.S. 100 metres record holder Tyson Gay said on July 14, 2013 he had tested positive for a substance he could not identify and was pulling out of next month’s world championships. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/Files (BRITAIN - Tags: SPORT OLYMPICS ATHLETICS)

REUTERS

American record holder Tyson Gay tested positive multiple times this year, according to The Associated Press.

Gay, 30, admitted earlier this month to failing a drug test at an out-of-competition test in May.

On Friday, the AP reported Gay also failed a test at the U.S. national championships in Des Moines, Iowa, in June.

Gay won the 100 and 200 meters to qualify for the world championships and has run the fastest 100 meters in the world this year.

One person familiar with the case told AP the multiple positives over a short period of time are a sign of an athlete who wasn’t trying to hide anything, but simply didn’t know he was taking a banned drug.

Gay, an Olympic silver medalist in the 4x100 relay and fourth in London in the 100, will no longer be going to the world championships. Gay would not reveal the specific banned substance he tested positive for in his only comments about the matter to the AP.

“I don’t have a sabotage story. I don’t have any lies. I don’t have anything to say to make this seem like it was a mistake or it was on USADA’s hands, someone playing games,” Gay told the AP during a teary phone interview July 14. “I don’t have any of those stories. I basically put my trust in someone and I was let down.”

He didn’t name the person who let him down.

Gay is facing a potential two-year ban from competition, though suspensions have been known to be reduced if first-time offenders unknowingly took a banned substance. Results from testing any of his “B” samples have yet to be released.

UPDATE: Gay’s “B” sample from his out-of-competition test came back positive, according to Reuters.

“We can confirm that the ‘B’ sample analysis of a sample collected from Mr. Gay has been completed and that the ‘B’ sample analysis has confirmed the ‘A’ sample findings,” USADA chief executive Travis Tygart said in a statement to Reuters.

The positive tests from Gay, former 100-meter world-record holder Asafa Powell and 2008 Olympic silver medalist in the women’s 100, Sherone Simpson, were all revealed July 14.

Powell and Simpson said they tested positive for the banned stimulant oxilofrine and, through their agent and track club coach, have gotten into an argument with trainer Chris Xuereb over who is to blame for taking the substance.

Usain Bolt said in a press conference that the latest doping scandal is going to set track and field “back a little bit” a day before winning the 100 meters at a Diamond League meet in London on Friday.

Gay began working with an “anti-aging specialist” before the 2012 Olympic trials, according to Sports Illustrated.

Video: Usain Bolt comes from behind to win 100 meters in London