Paris: American sprinter Tyson Gay won the second 100-metre race of his comeback after a drugs ban when he clocked a modest 10.04sec at a meeting in the Paris suburb of Montreuil on Monday.
In steady drizzle, Gay beat Trinidad and Tobago’s Richard Thompson, who timed 10.16, into second place, with Norway’s Jaysuma Saidy-Ndure third in 10.23.
Last week, in the Lausanne Diamond meet, Gay was trumped by fellow-American Justin Gatlin in his first race back. Gatlin won in a blistering 9.80, with Gay trailing in second in 9.93.
Gay, 31, was banned in June 2013 after testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid in two out-of-competition tests. The standard ban for a doping violation is two years, but Gay has been treated more leniently because he cooperated with United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), it said.
“We appreciate Tyson doing the right thing by immediately withdrawing from competition once he was notified, accepting responsibility for his decisions, and fully and truthfully cooperating with us in our ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding his case,” USADA chief executive Travis T. Tygart told the organisation’s official website.
Gay, who has been one of Usain Bolt’s main rivals over the past few years, also accepted the forfeiture of all results and prizes dated back to July 15, 2012, when he first admitted using a product that contained a banned substance.
That included his silver medal in the US men’s 4x100-metre relay squad at the London Games, where they finished second to Bolt’s all-conquering Jamaican team.
The shortened suspension length is subject to appeal by the IAAF and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it was satisfied with the punishment meted out to Gay. “We note the athlete accepted responsibility for his actions and returned the medal from the London Olympic Games,” it said in a statement.
Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment continued his impressive run of form, easily winning the 110-metre hurdles in 13.33sec, but he was a long way outside of his own season’s best, set in the Paris Diamond meet on Saturday, of 12.94, the 10th fastest of all-time.
