MANCHESTER, Aug 1: Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis, the winner of the men’s 100 metres at the Commonwealth Games, has tested positive for a banned substance but will not be penalised because he was taking a drug to treat asthma.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) said Thursday that a drug test on Collins had shown the presence of salbutamol, a prohibited sustance which is used in the treatment of asthma.

“The use of salbutamol is permitted under certain conditions and the level found in Mr Collins’ sample was consistent with normal therapeutic use and was not considered to be performance-enhancing,” the CGF said in a statement.

Collins was the first competitor to test positive at the Games which opened on July 25 and run until Sunday.

His victory in Saturday’s final thrust the tiny Caribbean islands of St Kitts and Nevis on to the world’s sporting map.

The race had been billed as a showdown between two English rivals — Mark Lewis-Francis and Dwain Chambers — but both Englishmen pulled up in the second half of the race with injuries, allowing Collins to steal the show in 9.98 seconds.—Reuters