“The athlete requested the opening of the B sample,” the IBSF said in a statement. “Once the result of the B sample has been made available to the IBSF all documents will be reviewed by the IBSF Positive Case Committee and the next steps in the process will be taken.”

The Jamaican team, which finished 19th in the two-woman bobsleigh in Pyeongchang, was comprised of US-born Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian and former track sprinter Carrie Russell.

Russell declined to comment when contacted by Reuters while pilot Fenlator-Victorian said “all queries should be directed to the IBSF”.

Sources with knowledge of case indicated that the “A” sample showed traces of the banned steroid clenbuterol.

The bobsleigh team received a lot of attention in Pyeongchang as they were the first female athletes from the Caribbean island nation to compete at a Winter Olympics.

Their breakthrough appearance came 30 years after a Jamaican men’s team competed at the Calgary Olympics, inspiring the highly successful movie “Cool Runnings”.