Dominique Blake


Dominique Blake is a Jamaican track and field athlete. Blake won a gold medal at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games and was accidentally awarded with a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was banned for years after testing positive for methylhexanamine and has returned to athletic competition in 2017.

Early life and education

Blake was born on 15 February 1987 in Bronx, New York. She spent four years as an athlete for Penn State University starting in 2004 and graduated from Penn State with a communications degree.

Career

Blake started her athletic career for the United States. In 2006, Blake ran in the 2006 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships but was later banned for nine months after testing positive for ephedrine. For Jamaica, Blake participated at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games where she won a gold medal in the 4x400 event. She also was at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships but did not win a medal.
Although Blake was a part of Jamaica's team that qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Blake never actually ran at the London Olympics. Despite not running in the women's 4 × 400 m event, Blake was accidentally awarded an Olympic bronze medal by the Jamaica Olympic Association. She did not return the medal, however. In 2013, Blake was suspended for six years after she tested positive for methylhexanamine. After her ban was lowered to years, Blake came back into competition in January 2017. Later that year, in compliance with International Association of Athletics Federations rules that mandate the return of all medals and prizes after positive testing for forbidden substances, Blake gave back her Olympic bronze medal to the Jamaica Olympic Association.