Botswana's Lydia Jele, who aided the country in making the 2017 IAAF World Championships 4x400m relay final this summer in London, has reportedly tested positive for a banned substance.

According to AllAfrica.com, Botswana Athletics Association president Mooketsi Thari confirmed he was aware of the situation but declined to comment further.

"Remember she is an elite athlete, so she might have been tested by the IAAF doping officers," Thari said. "Therefore as it is right now I am constrained to give you a comment before the results land on our hands as a federation."

The 27-year-old Jele broke 51 seconds for the first time in her career this year, clocking a PB of 50.32 at altitude in Pretoria, South Africa. Between 2012 and 2015, she ran no faster than 52 seconds before improving to 51.50 in 2016, again at altitude.

Many in the nation hoped she would be the second coming of Amantle Montsho, the 2011 world champion over 400m. Unfortunately, a drug ban may be the common denominator between the two athletes, as Montsho was ultimately banned for two years from sport after failing a drug test at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. 

Montsho's ban ended last summer, so she competed along with Jele at this summer's world 4x400m final, where the quartet placed seventh overall. Neither woman advanced to the open 400m final.