UK Athletics technical director Stephen Maguire: “If he (CJ Ujah) is available to compete we will select him. Hopefully things go easy for CJ in coming back and it would be great to have that choice in selecting CJ.”
Last Updated: 14/10/22 11:09am
CJ Ujah’s 22-month suspension would end next summer
New UK Athletics technical director Stephen Maguire says CJ Ujah will be considered for selection once he has served his drugs ban.
The 28-year-old sprinter is now suspended following his positive test after helping Team GB to 4x100m silver at last year’s Tokyo Olympics.
Ujah was handed a backdated 22-month suspension this week but was cleared of intentionally taking a prohibited substance by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The AIU stated the ban was effective from August 6, 2021 and will be in force until June 5, 2023.
As a result, Ujah will be available for next year’s World Championships in Hungary and Maguire confirmed, if Ujah is quick enough, he will be in the frame for the British team.
CJ Ujah’s 22-month suspension would end next summer
“If he’s available to compete we will select him,” Maguire said. “I haven’t spoken to CJ (Ujah) in a couple of years. He made a mistake and that’s clear,” he said. “I need to see what the environment is like. CJ, first of all, has to run fast anyway.
“It’s looking at that environment and where it all fits. Hopefully things go easy for CJ in coming back and it would be great to have that choice in selecting CJ. The 100m and 4x100m is going to be tough for anyone.
“I’ll definitely be chatting to CJ. I’ve [also] had a couple of conversations with the BOA [British Olympic Association]
“It’s getting to know them now the CJ news has broken. He’s eligible next year. It’s a conversation I’ll need to have.”
Ujah, who blamed a £10 supplement he bought from Amazon for testing positive for Ostarine and S-23 in Japan, always denying he had taking anything deliberately.
Richard Kilty, who along with Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and Zharnel Hughes lost their relay medals, said earlier this year he would never forgive Ujah and Maguire concedes work will be needed to reintegrate the sprinter.
Ujah (L) and Zharnel Hughes with their silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics
“Yes is the word because we have to reaffirm where we’re at, are we all on the same page? I’d be surprised if – although I’m not sure mediation is the right word – we didn’t have conversations about this is, how it’s going to look,” Maguire added.
“There is going to be a big group of athletes, not just CJ, Adam (Gemili), Richard or Zharnel. It’s a group working together to understand how to do things. We need a wee bit of time to see how it all evolves.
“The one thing which was very clear is we have got to ensure our environment, culture and the ability to run fast is better than any other team in the world.”
Ujah: “I am not a cheat”
Ujah, who was found not to have breached the sport’s doping rules on purpose, was part of the British quartet which missed out on gold to Italy in Tokyo by 0.01 seconds.
“Obviously, I made a mistake,” Ujah told The Guardian earlier this week. “But people mistakes. I am not a cheat.
“I think complacency set in. During the [coronavirus] pandemic I relied a lot on Amazon, rather than using the people and resources around me. It was just convenient, with next-day delivery. And I didn’t think anything was wrong with it.
“You know what? I wish I had been tested right before the Olympics, so that I never went. That way, I would never have put these other three guys, my team-mates, through what they went through as well as myself.”
