• Athletics

Sponsors distance themselves from Gay

ESPN staff
July 15, 2013
Tyson Gay has been an Adidas athlete since 2005 © Getty Images
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Adidas has suspended its contract with two-time world 100m champion Tyson Gay after the American failed an out-of-competition anti-doping test.

Gay's positive test was revealed just hours before Asafa Powell was also informed that a banned stimlulant had shown up in his A-sample at the Jamaican trials, meaning the two fastest men in 2013 are now facing doping bans.

With less than a month to go until the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Gay has confirmed he will not travel with the US squad after conceding that he has been "let down" by a member of his team.

Adidas has the right to terminate any contract with its athletes "if the athlete is found guilty of the possession or use of drugs or any other prohibited substance by the relevant governing sports body having jurisdiction over the athlete."

Gay has been sponsored by Adidas since 2005.

"I don't have a sabotage story. I don't have lies ... I basically put my trust in someone and I was let down," the American said when the news broke on Sunday, adding that he had never knowingly taken an illegal performance-enhancing substance.

"We are shocked by these recent allegations, and even if we presume his innocence until proven otherwise, our contract with Tyson is currently suspended," an Adidas spokesman said.

Powell was one of five Jamaican athletes to fail tests at the national trials for the World Championships, along with Olympic 4x100 metres relay silver medallist Sherone Simpson.

Italian police discovered a stash of unidentified medicines in Powell's hotel room in Rome after a raid, according to reports.

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