Olympic champion's brutal swipe amid Great Britain doping scandal
Italy's double Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs has taken a brutal swipe at Great Britain after relay silver medallist Chijindu 'CJ' Ujah allegedly breached anti-doping rules.
The Athletics Integrity Unit announced on Thursday that Ujah had been provisionally suspended after the Tokyo Olympics.
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The AIU said it had been notified by the doping control laboratory in Tokyo that Ujah had returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) from a test carried out during the Olympics.
In a brutal twist, Jacobs said the news "made him smile" and that British sport should "look at your own situation first before attacking others".
Jacobs spearheaded the Italian team that won gold over GB in the 4x100m relay by just 0.01 seconds.
It was Jacobs' second gold medal of the Tokyo Games after his stunning victory in the 100m final.
But the Italian star has come under heavy scrutiny in the aftermath after it emerged his former nutritionist is allegedly being investigated for a connection with performance-enhancing substances.
Jacobs has since distanced himself from the scandal, saying he split with Giacomo Spazzini once he found out he was under investigation well before the Tokyo Games.
On Friday, Jacobs again addressed the controversy and took aim at Great Britian in the process.
"The situation hasn’t really affected me that much, I know the sacrifices and the hardships I’ve gone through to get here and instead I want to enjoy it 100 per cent," Jacobs told Italian TV breakfast show Unomattina.
"After seeing the investigation into Ujah, I’d say that maybe it’s better to look at your own situation first before attacking others. The whole thing makes me smile."
Great Britain at risk of having relay silver medals stripped
Ujah's relay teammates were Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, whose medals will also be at risk if the positive test is confirmed.
The AIU said it had worked closely with the International Testing Agency during the Games and provided the intelligence to carry out specific target testing on athletes, without specifying which.
"The AIU now awaits the conclusion of the ITA proceedings, which will determine whether any anti-doping rule violations have been committed and what consequences (if any) should be imposed in relation to the Olympic Games," it added.
Jacobs was one of the revelations of the Tokyo Games, becoming the first Italian ever to win the 100m at an Olympics Games, racing to victory with a European record time of 9.80 seconds despite having not gone under 10 seconds until this year.
"Well, this is something that honestly, I am not involved with, because from the very first moment we heard about this thing that happened, we stopped working with him," Jacobs told reporters when asked about Spazzini.
Italian media have reported that the pair split in March when the first reports surfaced of Spazzini's alleged involvement.
Earlier this week the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) blasted suggestions in the media that cast doubt on Jacobs's victory in the 100m, saying the reports were "embarrassing and unpleasant".
with agencies
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