Nigeria gold medallist fails drugs test

Nigerian gold medallist Chika Amalaha has been provisionally suspended from the Commonwealth Games for failing a drugs test.

The 16-year-old won weightlifting gold with a combined total of 196kg in the women’s 53kg category.

Her ‘A’ sample was found to contain amiloride and hydrochlorothiazide, which are both prohibited as diuretics and masking agents.

Amalaha will have a ‘B’ sample tested on Wednesday.

The teenager won gold last Friday, as Dika Toua took silver to secure Papua New Guinea’s first medal of Glasgow 2014, with India’s Santoshi Matsa winning bronze.

Amalaha is the first athlete to fail a test at the Games, but Welsh 400m hurdler Rhys Williams and 800m runner Gareth Warburton both missed the competition after being charged with anti-doping rule violations.

Both athletes deny knowingly taking any banned substance. BBC