Kariem Hussein will miss the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, after a Gly-Coramin lozenge resulted in an adverse analytical finding (AAF – or ‘positive test’) for nikethamide, resulting in a nine month ban. ‘The result of a doping control at the Swiss Championships showed a substance that is not allowed for competitions’, read a statement from the Swiss 400m hurdler (below). ‘It is allowed for training, not for competitions though. With the intake of a Gly-Coramin lozenge after the final run I made a serious mistake, which now results in a ban of 9 months. It was never my intention to take illicit substances.’

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‘At the request of Anti-Doping Switzerland, the Swiss Olympic disciplinary chamber banned the Swiss athlete Kariem Hussein for 9 months due to the presence of the prohibited substance nikethamide and the metabolite N-ethylnicotinamide in the athlete’s doping sample’, read a statement from Anti-Doping Switzerland. ‘The suspension has been in effect since July 16, 2021, the start of the provisional suspension, and is effective for all sports and all functions in sports. The decision is not yet final and can therefore be challenged.’

The Prohibited List of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirms that nikethamide is a substance prohibited only in-competition. Gly-Coramin’s website specifies that the product contains dextrose, ‘which produces energy’ and nikethamide, ‘which can stimulate breathing’. Its website specifies (and has always specified) that it is designed for recreational athletes, and its use could result in a positive doping test.