The latest sprinting doping scandal in Florida feels all too familiar - Town Square #13
The Athletics Integrity Unit charges the coach of the sprint star Issam Asinga with possession of the same drug the young athlete tested positive for. His deleted Instagram tells the usual story.
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In the summer of 2023, the Athletics Integrity Unit announced that the Florida high school sprinter Issam Asinga had failed a doping test shortly before breaking the U20 100m world record in a time of 9.89 seconds. The unapproved performance-enhancing drug at the heart of the case was GW1516 which caused cancer in mice during clinical trials.
Just weeks earlier, Justin Gatlin promised the 18-year-old Asinga, who competes for the Republic of Suriname, a PlayStation 5 if he could break the ten-second barrier. It was a promise that Gatlin duly delivered on.
When news of Asinga’s case broke, I was of course suspicious of his performances and his support team. These suspicions were compounded by his relationship with Gatlin who tested positive for amphetamines and testosterone during his career.
I soon realised, via Instagram, that the young sprinter’s coach Gerald Phiri was part of the same Florida sprinting circles that have faced so many doping scandals in the past.
Phiri, who grew up in Great Britain, has now been charged with possession of the same drug, GW1516, that Asinga and two of his other athletes tested positive for.
His Instagram page has now been deleted but fortunately in 2023 I saved a series of screenshots that tell an all too familiar story.