US sprinter fails doping test

A three-month suspension has been handed to US sprinter Ivory Williams following the discovery of marijuana traces in a positive drugs test.

Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) techniques are often used to separate different chemicals present in samples given by athletes and the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) found Carboxy THC - a metabolite of cannabis - in Williams's test.

Listed as a specified substance, cannabinoids result in a reduced sanction when compared with other drugs, which carry a standard two-year ban.

Williams secured the US men's 60-metre indoor title last month and triumphed over the same distance in the Millrose Games in January.

However, the suspension will now mean he misses the World Indoor Athletics Championships, which begin on Friday (March 12th).

It follows the recent banning of cyclist Thomas Dekker, who will be barred from competing for two years after a urine sample of his was reanalysed and revealed to contain traces of a performance-enhancing chemical.