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Jamaican champion sprinter suspended after failed doping test

One of the world's most decorated sprinters has been suspended by her home nation's athletics association over concerns about possible doping.

Veronica Campbell-Brown, a two-time Olympic champion, has been provisionally suspended as a result of an ongoing case against her, according to the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association. Campbell-Brown's management has denied any impropriety.

Campbell-Brown holds seven Olympic medals, including three golds in the 200 meters (2004, 2008) and 4x100 relay (2004). According to The Guardian, she failed a drug test for a banned diuretic which is often used to mask other drugs.

"The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association can now confirm that a case concerning Mrs. Veronica Campbell-Brown is currently ongoing," Campbell-Brown's management team, On Track Management, said a statement. "The matter is being handled according to the IAAF rules. She has been provisionally suspended from competition awaiting the outcome of the disciplinary panel that will be empanelled to hear this case. We also wish to point out that Mrs. Veronica Campbell-Brown voluntarily withdrew herself from competition and accepted the provisional suspension."

From there, the statement gets poetic: "There are two things that are unmistakable about Veronica Campbell Brown. On one hand she has had good success on the track, and on the other she has always stood for and carried herself with dignity. That she should now be accused of infringing on anti-doping rules is a shock to her, her loyal supporters and many others in not just sports, but also the other spheres into which she has extended herself to help. Her faith which rest not in device or creed will see her through this dark period.

"Due to her determination to vigorously pursue the clearing of her name, she will desist from being vocal, suffice it to say, while not accepting guilt of willfully taking a banned substance, she wholeheartedly apologizes to her family, Jamaica, her sponsors, the governing body, the world athletics family, her supporters, as well as those she worked with in various non-athletic causes for any embarrassment and or hurt this devastating news has caused.

"She remains an ardent believer in the purity of competition, the beauty of the sport and resolute in the fact that unearned suffering has redemptive qualities. She will begin the process of clearing her name."

There is no timetable for any kind of decision or retesting, if necessary, by Jamaica's athletic association.