Athletics expert Dare Esan is of the view that Tobi Amusan’s doping charge by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) could potentially affect her performance should she get to participate at the World Athletics Championship starting on August 19 in Budapest, Hungary.
The 100 metres world record holder has been charged for missing three whereabout tests and has maintained she is clean. The 26-year-old is waiting for an independent disciplinary tribunal under World Athletics to deliver a verdict before the championship commences.
This potentially puts her at risk of missing the world championships where she is the reigning champion from last year. She also faces the prospect of a two-year ban from the sport.
While Esan believes Amusan can be shaken by the events of the doping charge, he thinks the Ogun State native has the strong mentality to pull through the storm.
“What happened to Tobi is not strange to her because she has been aware of this issue for about four weeks now,” Esan said in an exclusive interview with Afrosport.
“I’m sure she has been having back and forth with World Athletics and AIU on this, so for her to still be doing well and know that this incident happened before the Diamond League in Lausanne and in other meets she has competed in, I think mentally she is strong and if she is convinced that she is clean, I don’t think it will affect her much.
“On the other side, there is a charge now and she is human and the whole world is now aware of it, maybe it will be weighing in her mind now and it can demoralise her.”
Esan went on to assert how Amusan’s charge puts a dent on Nigeria’s image, citing examples of Blessing Okagbare and Grace Nwokocha who both received doping bans.
“Any situation that occurs has an effect on the [Nigerian athletics] federation, the nation, maybe not the athletes because if you found out one of those athletes who had whereabout failures, I think you should have guarded against it,” he continued. The Okagbare case happened in 2021, in 2022 Grace Nwokocha was caught but she did not learn anything from the Okagbare situation.
“It does not really affect the athletes hence when you talk about anti-doping violations to athletes, it’s only a few that will condemn anti-doping violations openly. The public is most affected because it affects the image of Nigeria and maybe the athletics federation to a certain extent will be affected because the AIU takes another look at you now that we are a high-risk Category A doping nation.
When asked by Afrosport how Amusan comes out of her current predicament, he said: “That is a very tough question and I do not have the answer. I think Tobi is in the best position to know the kind of defence she is going to put up with her lawyer.
“They will deal with facts and call in lawyers to analyse whatever challenge Tobi has put up so it will depend on the facts on the table that will determine if she escapes or not.”
Esan concludes by saying that Amusan should have known better because her profile has changed since she broke the 100 metres hurdles world record in Eugene, Oregon last year. He fears her career might be over if she is given a doping ban as the motivation to return might not be there. He is however hopeful she can pull through the entire debacle.
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“She should have known better, not because she has been in athletics for a long time,” he explained. “The fact that she is a world champion and world record holder means there would be more focus on her.
“She is not the Tobi Amusan of pre-world championship in Oregon, she is a new Tobi Amusan because she is a world record holder and she is a world champion. Then the fact that she failed the first whereabout test, you are giving your tester the assumption that you are hiding something. She may not be hiding something, it may be an honest mistake but since it has happened it is now left for you to prove that it was an honest mistake.
“As an athlete in an individual sport, you are responsible for all you do, not the sports federation, not anybody, not your coach, unless you mention your coach in terms of a positive dope test. I hope she can pull out of it because I see her personally as a clean athlete.
“What I don’t know is if Tobi will be interested in coming back. She said before the World Championship in 2022 that if nothing clicks for the year, she is going to quit the track.
“Already the nation is going to lose a lot if she does not escape this and she does not make the world championship. She is the only sure bet that Nigeria has of winning medals at the World Championships because she has gotten to a form she has never been before.”
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