Surinamese teen sprinter Issam Asinga is suing Gatorade over a doping ban that cost him a spot at the Olympics in Paris 2024.

The teenager, who once beat US Olympic hopeful Noah Lyles in a race, claims that recovery gummies provided by Gatorade are the reason he tested positive for a banned substance that led to his four-year track and field suspension.

Asinga, the under-20 world record holder in the 100 meters, said when Gatorade honoured 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.

The teen athlete attributes his woes to the gummies for why he later tested positive for the banned substance GW1516, which led to him being stripped of his record.

The suit also claims the company damaged Asinga through its measures to protect its reputation.

Asinga filed suit in the Southern District of New York against Gatorade and Pepsi Co., its parent company. He is seeking, according to the lawsuit, to “recoup the millions of dollars he has lost in economic opportunities, as well as compensation for the devastating emotional harm he has suffered.”

The lawsuit says the gummies lacked the certification, and instead “had been made using shoddy manufacturing processes, and were contaminated with trace amounts of an illegal performance-enhancing drug.”

In an emailed statement published by the Washington Post, 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.”

“Gatorade fully complied with the Athletics Integrity Unit investigation, including producing evidence that was accepted by the AIU that the gummies were not contaminated with the banned substance in their original ruling,” he continued.

Asinga argues that GW1516 would no longer have been detectable after the length of time Gatorade took to produce the sample for testing.

The sprinter has not competed since last year’s World Championships in Budapest and is seeking economic damages for lost income, scholarship opportunities and future earnings.

In 2023, Asinga was considered one of the world’s most promising up-and-coming track athletes.