Surinamese sprinter Issamade Asinga has filed a lawsuit against the Gatorade Company, alleging that his recent doping ban was caused by contaminated "recovery gummies" provided by the brand. The 19-year-old Asinga was handed a four-year suspension by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) in May for a doping violation, resulting in the loss of his two South American Championship gold medals and his under-20 100 meters world record.
In the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, Asinga claims that Gatorade provided him with the gummies a year ago, with packaging stating that they were "NSF Certified for Sport" and therefore free from banned substances. However, the lawsuit alleges that the gummies lacked the certification and were instead "made using shoddy manufacturing processes, and were contaminated with trace amounts of an illegal performance-enhancing drug."
NSF is an independent, Michigan-based non-governmental organization that certifies products as free from substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Gatorade has denied the allegations, stating that the product in question is safe and that the claims made are false. The beverage company also claims that its products are FDA compliant and safe for athlete consumption, as validated by the AIU investigation.
Asinga further alleges that Gatorade provided a sealed bottle from a different lot of gummies to AIU, "creating the false impression that the testing of this exemplar was relevant to Issam's case." Gatorade maintains that it provided a sealed container of gummies from the same lot after the AIU ruling and that the sample tested negative. Asinga argues that the banned drug, known as cardarine, would not have been detectable after that length of time.
The sprinter has not competed since he was handed a provisional suspension ahead of last year's World Championships in Budapest. He is seeking economic damages for lost income, scholarship opportunities, and future earnings.
Tags: #Doping, #Gatorade, #IssamadeAsinga, #AthleticsIntegrityUnit, #NSF
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