The 19-year-old Surinamese athlete Issamade Asinga was found to have violated World Athletics' Anti-Doping Rules (ADR 2.1) regarding the "presence of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers in an Athlete's Sample". 

He was provisionally suspended by the AIU in August after testing positive for metabolites of GW1516 in an out-of-competition test on 18 July. The decision of the Disciplinary Tribunal may be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).  The AIU is the independent body established by World Athletics to manage all integrity issues - both doping and non-doping - for athletics. 

The substance is classified as highly toxic and carcinogenic, and could have an effect that could be similar to that of EPO (erythropoietin), so popular in endurance sports since the 1990s. In 2013, Russian cyclist Valery Kaikov was the first to be caught with this metabolite.

Rule 2.1.1 of the ADR provides as follows: "It is each Athlete's personal duty to ensure that no Prohibited Substance enters their body. Athletes are responsible for any Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers found to be present in their Samples. Accordingly, it is not necessary to demonstrate intent, Fault, Negligence or knowing Use on the Athlete's part in order to establish a Rule 2.1 anti-doping rule violation." 

Rule 2.1.2c of the ADR states: "Sufficient proof of an anti-doping rule violation under Rule 2.1 is established by (i) the presence of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers in the Athlete's A Sample where the Athlete waives analysis of the B Sample and the B Sample is not analysed; (ii) where the analysis of the Athlete's B Sample confirms the presence of the Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers found in the Athlete's A Sample; or (iii) where the Athlete's A or B Sample is split into two parts and the analysis of the confirmation part of the split Sample confirms the presence of the Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers found in the first part of the split Sample or the Athlete waives analysis of the confirmation part of the split Sample." 

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has listed GW1516 as a Prohibited Substance under the Category S4 - Hormone and Metabolic Modulators - and it is an Unspecified Substance that is prohibited at all times. GW1516 changes the way the body uses fat. It was originally synthesised and studied for the treatment of obesity, diabetes and other disorders caused by metabolic problems. 

'Issam' Asinga, who lives in the United States, argued that the positive test was caused by a contaminated product, Gatorade Recovery Gummies for Athletes, which he received at a ceremony in the US on 10 July after winning the Gatorade National Boys Track and Field Player-of-the-Year award. However, the Disciplinary Tribunal said that the athlete "failed to establish on a balance of probabilities that the Gatorade Recovery Gummies were the source of the GW1516 metabolites detected in his 18 July 2023 sample". 

As a result, all of his competition results since 18 July 2023 will be disqualified and he will be stripped of all of his titles and prizes. This includes his double sprint victories at last year's South American Outdoor Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil. On 28 July 2023, he ran a record-breaking 9.89 seconds in the 100m final. 

Had it not been for his ADRV, this performance would have eclipsed Botswana's Letsile Tebogo's mark of 9.91 seconds, set at the World U20 Athletics Championships in Cali in 2022, and would have broken Robson da Silva's 35-year-old South American 100m mark of 10 seconds. Two days later, Asinga also won the 200m crown. 

"This decision upholds an important principle in cases where contamination is claimed. The requirement for athletes to prove how the Substance entered their system must be enforced. This proof must not be based on speculation, but on specific, convincing and objective evidence. This strict requirement is essential to protect clean athletes," said AIU President David Howman. 

The AIU was represented throughout the proceedings by Louise Reilly, Nicolas Zbinden and Robert Kerslake of Kellerhals Carrard, Lausanne, Switzerland, and Tony Jackson, AIU Deputy Head of Case Management, Monte-Carlo, Monaco. The athlete was represented by Paul J. Greene and Matthew D. Kaiser of Global Sports Advocates, LLC, Portland, Maine, USA. 

In support of his argument, Asinga claimed that he had taken the Gatorade Recovery Gummies in the week prior to the positive test and that testing of two unsealed containers of Gatorade Recovery Gummies, provided by the athlete, revealed the presence of GW1516 and GW1516 Sulfoxide. The Disciplinary Tribunal found that Asinga did not meet his burden of proving that the Gatorade Recovery Gummies were the source of the GW1516 metabolites detected in his sample. 

The Disciplinary Tribunal considered that the Gatorade Recovery Gummies provided by the athlete for testing in unsealed containers contained significantly more GW1516 on the outside than on the inside, eliminating any contamination from raw materials in the manufacturing process. They were batch tested by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) and received the NSF Certified for Sport. In addition, the sealed container of the Gummies from the same batch tested negative by the Lausanne Anti-Doping Laboratory.