Don’t blame Briana – Rep

Dr Emir Crowne, the representative of Briana Williams who has tested positive for the banned diuretic Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), said the 17-year-old ought not to be blamed for the ordeal she has suffered and therefore should not be sanctioned.

"Our primary position will be that Ms Williams bears no fault in the circumstances and there should be no sanctions levied against her," he said.

STAR Sports understands Williams' team believes that the banned substance came from a contaminated cold and flu medication the World Under-20 champion took at the National Senior Championships back in June as she was suffering from the flu.

Importantly, it is reported that Williams declared that she took the medication on her testing protocol form.

Uphill battle

It is also reported that the drug was administered by a close family of the teenager.

"It will be an uphill battle, but this is one of the truly genuine times when there was nothing more that the athlete could do in the circumstances," Crowne said. "Failing a finding of no fault whatsoever, then we will rely on a finding of no significant fault because again, it's a contaminated product.

Under the WADA Code and JADCO code, the minimum sanction is a reprimand, so we will be asking, in light of the circumstances (that she receives a reprimand)."

Williams came to international prominence last year when she won the sprint double at the Under-20 championships in Tampere, Finland

She followed up those performances with her 10.96 seconds clocking at the National Trials, the same meet where she returned the analytical adverse finding.

Williams is the second high-profile athlete to be implicated in a doping violation over the past week. Christian Coleman, the American 100m champion, is facing a possible ban for missing three random drug tests over a 12-month period.

Crowne hopes that his client will be cleared before September 6, the date the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association is expected to the name the team that will represent the country at the Doha World Championships.