Morocco`s Jamel Chatbi fails drugs test

Berlin: Morocco`s Jamel Chatbi withdrew from world championship men`s steeplechase final after testing positive for the stimulant clenbuterol, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said.

Chatbi, who was tested after the heats, is the first athlete to fail a drugs test during the Aug. 15-23 event in Berlin where the IAAF will carry out around 1,000 tests overall. "We can confirm it. The athlete has tested positive for clenbuterol," IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said. Clenbuterol is a stimulant often used to treat asthma.Chatbi, who won the 3,000 metres steeplechase title at the Mediterranean Games earlier this year, had finished second in heat three in the first round on Sunday to qualify for Tuesday`s final with the 11th best time overall. He pulled out only hours before the event won by Kenyan Ezekiel Kemboi. Another IAAF official said Chatbi had waived testing the B sample after the positive A sample. "He waived it. This is the first positive test after about 600 tests we have conducted so far," said the IAAF official. The Moroccan athletics federation issued a statement saying the athlete had tested positive in his A sample. He now faces a two-year ban as a first-time offender. Bureau Report