100m hurdles world recorder holder, Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan, has been cleared of any anti-doping rule violations by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over a whereabout rule violation filed by the athletics governing body, World Athletics, via its Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The 27-year-old was initially charged by World Athletics in July 2023 for an alleged anti-doping violation under rule 2.4 WA Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) after she reportedly missed three whereabouts tests within a 12-month period.
Amusan subsequently challenged the decision, and the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal (WADT) in August 2023, confirmed that Amusan did not violate the aforementioned rule, while also adding a period of eligibility should not be imposed on athletes.
However, CAS, on Friday, dismissed the appeals filed by both World Athletics and WADA against the decision to clear Amusan of any doping violations, which further confirms the verdict of the WADT that the Nigerian did not commit any anti-doping offences.
“In their respective appeals to CAS, WA and WADA had sought the imposition of a two-year period of ineligibility,” a statement from CAS read.
“The CAS Panel held a hearing on Jan. 19. Having deliberated, the CAS Panel has issued its decision today dismissing both appeals.
“The CAS Panel unanimously acknowledged that the athlete committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a missed test, alleged by WA and WADA, which would have been the third whereabouts failure committed within a 12-month period.
“Accordingly, the CAS Panel concluded that the athlete did not commit an ADRV and that the challenged decision should be confirmed,” CAS affirmed.
🗣️🗣️FREE AT LAST!!!
Tobi Amusan has finally been cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over a whereabout rule violation filed by the World Athletics and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
CAS dismissed the charges and ruled that: “Accordingly, the Challenged… pic.twitter.com/ea7eNoVTdq
— Making of Champions (@MakingOfChamps) June 28, 2024
The news of Amusan’s clearance will breed a sigh of relief to the Nigerian sprint queen as well as the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and her fans in general as she is one of the nation’s hopes of clinching a medal in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics this summer.
Amusan recently won a gold medal for Nigeria in the just-concluded African Athletics Championship in Douala, Cameroon, where she competed in the 4x100m relay event.
