Gil Roberts

Gil Roberts (born March 15, 1989) is an American athlete who specializes in the 200 m and 400 m. He is an Olympic gold medallist and World Championship silver medallist in the men's 4×400 metres relay.

Gil Roberts

Calvin Smith, Gil Roberts, Manteo Mitchell
Personal information
Born	(1989-03-15) March 15, 1989 (age 35) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	79.5 kg (175 lb)
Sport
College team	Texas Tech Red Raiders
Medal record Men's athletics Representing the  United States Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×400 m relay World Championships 2017 London 4×400 m relay World Indoor Championships 2012 Istanbul 4×400 m relay

Career

He competed for Texas Tech under coach Wes Kittley at the NCAA level. He was a member of the USA team that won the gold medal in the Men's 4×400 metres relay at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships.^[1] Roberts won the 2014 US Outdoor championship in 44.53 on June 28 in Sacramento, California.^[2]

While competing at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Roberts won an Olympic gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay.^[3] Another Texas Tech athlete, Michael Mathieu won bronze in the same event competing for the Bahamas.

Anti-doping rules violations

Roberts has been issued with three anti-doping rules violations (ADRV) during his career. In 2017 he tested positive for probenecid, but a tribunal hearing found that he "ingested [the] prohibited substance without fault or negligence" after the source was deemed to have occurred after kissing his girlfriend and therefore received no sanctions from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).^[4] The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) challenged the decision, but a tribunal dismissed their appeal.^[5]

In 2022, Roberts received a 16 month competition ban after testing positive for unintentional use of andarine and ostarine.^[6][7]

In June 2024, Roberts received an eight-year competition ban after testing positive for ostarine and other prohibited substances.^[8][9][10]

References

1. "Tech star anchors winning relay at World Championships". lubbockonline. 11 March 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
2. "TEXASTECH.COM Roberts Wins Gold at U.S. Championships - Texas Tech University Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on 2014-09-12. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
3. "U.S. men reclaim the gold in 4x400 relay". USAToday.com. USA Today. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
4. "Gil Roberts: Sprinter ingested banned substance by kissing girlfriend". BBC News. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
5. "Sprinter Gil Roberts' 'passionate kissing' defense upheld by appeals court". ESPN. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
6. Kelsall, Christopher (10 December 2022). "American sprinter Gil Roberts suspended 16 months for doping, for the second time". Athletics Illustrated. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
7. Dickinson, Marley (8 December 2022). "U.S. Olympic gold medallist Gil Roberts banned 16 months for doping". Canadian Running. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
8. "Independent Arbitrator Imposes Eight-Year Sanction on Track & Field Athlete Gil Roberts for Second Anti-Doping Rule Violation". 21 June 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
9. "Roberts hit with eight-year doping ban after second violation". Reuters. 21 June 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
10. "US athlete Roberts handed doping ban for second time". BBC News. 21 June 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.

External links

• Gil Roberts at www.USATF.org
• Gil Roberts at Team USA (archived)
• Gil Roberts at World Athletics
• Gil Roberts at Diamond League
• Gil Roberts at Olympics.com
• Gil Roberts at Olympic.org (archived)
• Gil Roberts at Olympedia