Coach of Teen Sprinter Who Sued Gatorade Suspended in Doping Case

Issam Asinga’s case against Gatorade may have just hit a major obstacle.

The onetime teen sprinting phenom’s coach, Gerald Phiri, was provisionally suspended for alleged doping violations, the Athletics Integrity Unit said Tuesday. Asinga claims his positive drug test was from a contaminated batch of Gatorade gummies.

A U.S. Anti-Doping Agency investigation found Asinga was one of three athletes under Phiri who tested positive for the same illegal substance in 2023 and 2024.

The AIU alleges Phiri possessed the substance when he was an athlete and was later caught with meldonium, another banned substance, when he was transitioning into coaching. The AIU said Phiri provided “false and inaccurate information” during the investigation. The suspension went into effect Monday and Phiri has the right to appeal. 

Phiri coached Asinga, who blazed onto the scene with a world junior record of 9.89 seconds in the 100 meters in 2023. 

Less than two weeks after his record-breaking race, the sport’s global drug-testing body informed him he had tested positive for GW1516—the same substance Phiri was caught with. He was suspended for four years and stripped of his record. Phiri coached Asinga at Montverde Academy in Florida before the suspension. 

Asinga filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York alleging the positive test stemmed from contaminated Gatorade gummies the sports hydration company gave him at an awards ceremony in 2023. He is also appealing his ban with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The AIU wasn’t moved and upheld the suspension, but acknowledged some of the gummies had GW1516. The body questioned whether a member of the teenager’s camp contaminated the sample. 

Attorneys for Asinga and Gatorade didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Southern District of New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.