By Victor Kanayo
With about 48 hours to the kick-off of 2023 World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has cleared Nigerian sprint sensation Tobi Amusan of doping charges.
A statement by the AIU revealed that its panel sat on Thursday, and found Amusan not guilty of “Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period.”
Confirmation Statement, Relief For Amusan
The statement further reads, “A panel of the Disciplinary Tribunal, by majority decision, has today found that Tobi Amusan has not committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period.
“AIU 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 decision is currently confidential but will be published in due course.
Provisional Suspension
Amusan, a 26-year-old from Nigeria, had been provisionally suspended last month while anti-doping authorities investigated a charge that she missed three drug tests in a 12-month span, which can trigger up to a two-year suspension even if an athlete never fails a drug test.
An AIU disciplinary tribunal was set up to hear her case before the Championship, making it possible for the ban to be lifted before the August 19 to 27 meet if she was cleared.
In any case, the first round of the 100m hurdles will be held on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.
Amusan Standing World Record
Amusan lowered the world record from 12.20 seconds to 12.12 in the semifinals of 2022 world’s in Eugene, Oregon.
She won the final in 12.06 later that day, but that time didn’t count for record purposes because there was too much tailwind.
This season, Amusan ranks second in the world by best time (12.34) behind Olympic gold medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico (12.31).
