Steve Mullings (born 28 November 1982) is a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n former sprint athlete who specialized in the

100 100 or one hundred ( Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

events. In 2011 he was given a lifetime ban for doping.

Career

Mullings began his international

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

career with a bronze medal win in the 100 m at the Pan American Junior Championships. At the 2004 national championship he made his first impact in senior athletics, setting new bests of 10.04 and 20.22 in the sprints, and finishing as the 200 m national champion. This earned him qualification into the 2004 Summer Olympics, but he was withdrawn from the competition after his sample from the national championships tested positive for banned substances. After his B sample also tested positive for

testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristi ...

, he was banned from competition for two years and his results between mid-2004 and 2005 were removed from the record. He returned to competition in 2006 but finished the season with unimpressive bests of 10.31 and 20.54. The following year was much more successful. He won the 100 m in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

with a wind-aided (3.7 m/s) run of 9.91 seconds, and featured on the 2007 IAAF Golden League circuit. He competed at the

2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member federat ...

as a heats runner for the Jamaican silver medal-winning 4×100 metres relay team. After an uneventful 2008, Mullings returned to form in 2009. He placed second over 200 metres in the national championships behind Olympic champion

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight-ti ...

. He set new personal bests in both sprints in July, running 20.01 seconds over 200 m in

Rethymno Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ...

, and 10.01 seconds over 100 m at the

Golden Gala Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend Piet ...

. Competing at the 2009 World championships in

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, Mullings finished 5th behind Bolt in the 200m in a personal best time of 19.98 seconds and won his first global gold medal as part of the successful Jamaican 4×100 metres relay team, running in both heats and the final. In 2011, he broke the 10 second barrier for the first time at age 28, and by the end of the year had run under 10 seconds seven times.

Lifetime ban for doping violations

However, on 11 August 2011, it was reported that Mullings had tested positive for the drug

Furosemide Furosemide is a loop diuretic medication used to treat fluid build-up due to heart failure, liver scarring, or kidney disease. It may also be used for the treatment of high blood pressure. It can be taken by injection into a vein or by m ...

, a masking agent. The positive test was recorded at the Jamaican national trials in June where he finished third in the men's 100-metre final. On 22 November the Jamaican Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel handed him a lifetime ban from athletics. They voted unanimously on the decision. An appeal by Mullings was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in March 2023 and his lifetime ban was confirmed.

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF profile.

References

External links

*
Interview with Phil Minshull from 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullings, Steve 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Saint Elizabeth Parish Jamaican male sprinters Jamaican sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in athletics World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners Sportspeople banned for life