Tobi Amusan found not guilty of anti-doping violations; cleared to defend title in Budapest
A disciplinary tribunal panel on Thursday found Nigerian hurdler Tobi Amusan not guilty of violating an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV), allowing her to compete in the upcoming World Athletics Championships.
“A panel of the disciplinary tribunal, by a majority decision, has today found that Tobi Amusan has not committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADV) of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period,” the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said in a statement seen by Peoples Gazette.
The AIU had provisionally suspended the reigning 100 hurdles champion last month for allegedly violating the anti-doping regulations after she missed three ‘whereabouts’ tests in the last 12 months. Amusan fiercely defended the allegations and reiterated she is a clean athlete.
However, Amusan’s case was given a hearing so that she would know her fate before the 2023 World Athletics Championships, scheduled to kick off in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday and was on Thursday cleared of the violations.
The latest development will allow Amusan to defend her 100m hurdles world title she won at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States. She also broke the world record with her 12.12 seconds at the tournament.
Meanwhile, AIU is not pleased with the outcome of the tribunal hearing, and the body’s head Brett Clothier indicated disappointment and plans to review the details of the ruling before deciding whether to appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
“AlU Head Brett Clothier has indicated the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is disappointed by this decision and will review the reasoning in detail before deciding whether to exercise its right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within the applicable deadline,” the statement added.
