The fastest high school sprinter in history, Issam Asinga, is suing Gatorade, claiming the company gave him a fraudulently certified product that contained a banned substance, resulting in his four-year banishment from track and field and costing him a chance to compete in the Paris Olympics.
Asinga, a Surinamese teenager who set the under-20 world record in the 100 meters, said that when Gatorade honored him as its high school track and field athlete of the year in July 2023, it provided a gift basket that included Gatorade Recovery Gummies. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, Asinga claims those gummies are the reason he later tested positive for the banned substance GW1516, leading to his ban this May and the stripping of his 100-meter record. The suit further claims the company took measures to protect its reputation, damaging Asinga’s in the process.
Asinga filed the lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against Gatorade and its parent company, PepsiCo. He seeks to “recoup the millions of dollars he has lost in economic opportunities, as well as compensation for the devastating emotional harm he has suffered.”
In an emailed statement, a Gatorade spokesperson said, “The product in question is completely safe and the claims made are false. … Gatorade products are FDA compliant and safe for athlete consumption, which was validated by the findings of the Athletics Integrity Unit investigation.”
Had he been eligible, Asinga could have competed for Suriname at the Paris Olympics, potentially earning millions in sponsorship deals. Instead, he is banned from the Games and lost his endorsement opportunity. The suspension also prohibits him from training with or competing for Texas A&M, and despite support from his coaches, Asinga fears he could lose his scholarship.
“You’re either guilty or you’re not,” Asinga said in a Zoom interview alongside his lawyers. “I know I’m not, so I’ve got to chase my dream. I’ve got two Olympian parents; I was born to run. Am I going to destroy my dream because of something I didn’t do, or am I going to keep fighting until the end?”
Asinga, who grew up in Atlanta and attended high school in Florida, is the son of track and field Olympians: his mother Ngozi competed for Zambia, and his father Tommy once served as the flag bearer for Suriname. In April 2023, Asinga shocked the track world by beating world champion Noah Lyles in a 100-meters race in Florida with a wind-aided time of 9.83 seconds.
In a 2022 interview, Asinga expressed his desire to make a difference for Suriname through his athletic achievements. “In Suriname, the one thing that’s holding them back is the facilities. They don’t have someone who can make that difference. I can use whatever I do in my track career to help better this country.”
Gatorade named him its 2023 Florida boys track & field player of the year and invited him to a July 11 ceremony in Los Angeles. According to the lawsuit, Asinga took a drug test a month before the ceremony that came back clean. However, after consuming the Gatorade Recovery Gummies from the gift bag, he tested positive for GW1516 in July.
The lawsuit claims that further testing confirmed the contamination in the gummies provided to Asinga. However, Gatorade’s delay in addressing the issue cost Asinga the opportunity to prove contamination from a sealed container of the same lot, effectively robbing him of the chance to clear his name.
Asinga’s lawyer, Paul Greene, plans to organize lab tests to prove that GW1516 could become undetectable over time, which could aid in an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport later this year.
Despite the setbacks, Asinga remains determined to clear his name and continue his athletic career. “There’s been some bad days. The clouds might be over us. But they’re going to have to clear eventually,” he said.