Coach of suspended sprinter faces punishment following investigation
After an investigation alongside the United States Anti-Doping Agency, the Athletics Integrity Unit handed Monteverde Academy Coach Gerald Phiri a provisional suspension. The AIU alleged Phiri possessed multiple banned drugs that modulate metabolism and failed to 'cooperate with the investigation by providing false and inaccurate information.'
The AIU said it opened an investigation after three of Phiri's athletes tested positive for GW1516 — a drug, known as cardarine, that alters how the body metabolizes fat — between July 2023 and August 2024. The AIU alleged that Phiri, a former Zambian Olympian, possessed GW1516 as an athlete in 2018 and 2019 and possessed meldonium, another banned metabolism drug, in 2024.
Phiri plans to appeal the suspension, Montverde Sports Information Manager Michael Damon said in an emailed statement.
In July 2023, when he was a sprinter at Montverde, Asinga tested positive for GW1516, which nullified his under-20 world record in the 100 meters and cost him a chance to compete at last year's Paris Olympics for Suriname, his father's native country and the flag he chose to compete under.
World Athletics suspended Asinga in May last year. Asinga's final appeal will be heard later this year at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. The case is expected to be heard in April, according to public filings.
Asinga sued Gatorade last summer, claiming he had ingested GW1516 through a contaminated package of energy gummies given to him at a Gatorade awards ceremony. (A lab tested the gummies and informed the AIU that they returned positive for GW1516.) Asinga also claimed the gummies were labeled falsely as certifiably tested and that Gatorade delayed in providing Asinga materials he could have used to prove his innocence.
Gatorade called the claims 'false.' The lawsuit remains ongoing in the Southern District of New York. Gatorade filed a motion to dismiss the suit in early January. Asinga's lawyers responded in filings that the motion should be denied and 'Issam's claims should move to discovery, where he can begin to learn more about how and why his life became derailed by Gatorade's dangerous product.'
Phiri joined Montverde Academy, a Florida prep school known for its elite athletic program, as an assistant coach in 2018 and became the head track and field coach in 2021. Phiri ran collegiately for Texas A&M and represented Zambia at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
'As this is an ongoing investigation, we have not been provided with any substantive details at this time,' Damon said in the statement. 'In compliance with the suspension, Coach Phiri will also be suspended from Montverde Academy and will not have any personal contact with our student-athletes pending the outcome of the investigation.'
GW1516 is illegal for use in food or medication in the United States. According to USADA, it was pulled from clinical trials after it caused cancer when tested on animals.
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Hamilton Spectator
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In the rush to blast out mugshots of some of the most criminal L.A. immigrants, the Trump administration left out a key part of the story. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, its staff notified ICE on May 5 of Veneracion's pending release after he had served nearly 30 years in prison for the crimes of assault with intent to commit rape and sexual penetration with a foreign object with force. But ICE failed to pick up Veneracion and canceled its hold on him May 19, a day before he was released on parole. A few weeks later, as ICE amped up its raids, federal agents arrested Veneracion on June 7 at the ICE office in L.A. The very next day, DHS shared his mugshot in a news release titled 'President Trump is Stepping Up Where Democrats Won't.' The same document celebrated the capture of Phan, who served nearly 25 years in prison after he was convicted of second-degree murder. CDCR said the Board of Parole Hearings coordinated with ICE after Phan was granted parole in 2022. Phan was released that year to ICE custody. But those details did not stop Trump officials from taking credit for his arrest and blaming California leaders for letting Phan loose. 'It is sickening that Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass continue to protect violent criminal illegal aliens at the expense of the safety of American citizens and communities,' DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Miami Herald
an hour ago
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ICE arrests Maryland pastor for overstaying visa, holds him in Louisiana
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