Oluwatobi Amusan, the world 100m hurdles champion, expressed her happiness after being exonerated of doping offenses by an independent tribunal on Thursday.
The Nigerian track and field athlete was temporarily suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) last month for three missing whereabouts failures.
Amusan was suspended when it was determined that he had missed three drug tests in a 12-month span. Even if an athlete has never failed a drug test, this offense carries a two-year suspension.
Ultimately, the Disciplinary Tribunal announced the verdict which stated, “Tobi Amusan has not committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period”.
Reacting to the verdict on Friday, the 26-year-old took to her Facebook handle to share her relief.
The statement read in part, “I am thrilled to put this behind me and I look forward to defending my title at next week’s World Championships.
“This morning I found out that the Independent Tribunal that heard my case has noted that I did not violate the whereabouts rules and as a result, I will not be sanctioned and none of my results will be precluded.
“I generally have been and consistently will be an ally of clean sport.”
According to AIU President Brett Clothier, the unit 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.”
Her ban was viewed as a major setback for Nigeria’s chances in the competition. Following the news, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) omitted Amusan from the country’s delegation to the World Athletics Championship, which begins on Saturday.
However, following the news on Thursday, the medalist contender is likely to compete in the competition in Budapest, Hungary.
