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Nigerian weightlifter, 16, fails drug test after winning Commonwealth Games gold

Chika Amalaha

FILE - This is a Friday, July, 25, 2014 file photo of Chika Amalaha of Nigeria, as she makes good lift during the women’s 53 kg weightlifting competition at the Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2014, in Glasgow, Scotland. Amalaha won the gold medal in the event. The Nigerian weightlifting gold medalist Chika Amalaha has failed a doping test at the Commonwealth Games and has been provisionally suspended from the games. Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Mike Hooper said Tuesday July 29, 2014 that Amalaha tested positive for diuretics and masking agents after being tested on July 25. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

AP

Nigerian Chika Amalaha, 16, became the youngest woman to ever win a Commonwealth Games weightlifting title Friday. Now, she’s the first athlete to fail a drug test at the Glasgow, Scotland, event.

Amalaha’s “A” sample after winning the 53kg (117-pound) division contained banned diuretics and masking agents amiloride and hydrochlorothiazide. Amalaha’s “B” sample will be tested Wednesday.

If that comes back positive, expect Amalaha to be stripped of her gold medal.

“It shows we have a very robust anti-doping program in place,” Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Mike Hooper said, according to The Associated Press. “It sends a strong message to anybody in any sport that if you go down the path of doping, any substance to enhance performance, they will be caught.”

Amalaha set Commonwealth Games records in her weight division with a total of 432 pounds. The previous record was 414 pounds.

Two Wales runners were kicked out of the Commonwealth Games before their competition for anti-doping violations.

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