CAS clears Amusan of doping charges

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has cleared Nigeria’s 100m hurdles world record holder, Tobi Amusan, of her pending whereabouts failure charges, just a few weeks before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Amusan, a 27-year-old Nigerian athlete, was charged with missing three anti-doping tests within a 12-month period in July 2023, but was subsequently cleared of the offense by World Athletics’ Disciplinary Tribunal.

However, World Athletics and the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against that decision.

CAS said in a statement on Friday said that its 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 12 months.”

The world record holder is on course for her third appearance at the Olympic Games having featured in Rio 2016 and Tokoy 2020 but yet to win a medal.

She has admitted to being in great form this year which has seen her run a world lead of 12.40secs (0.9), at the Jamaican Athletics Invitational in May, which was only bettered by France’s Cyréna Samba-Mayela’s 12.31s (+0.8) earlier this month.

She had also set the African 60m hurdles indoor record twice in January and February and admitted she was in better shape than in previous seasons.

She didn’t make it beyond the heats on her debut appearance in 2016 and finished fourth at the last edition in Tokyo, marginally missing out on the podium.

Amusan set the world record of 12.12s in the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July 2022 and went on to win the title.

Amid the charges, she failed to defend her world title last year in Budapest where she finished sixth.

At the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Tobi Amusan made history by setting a world record time of 12.12 seconds in the 100m hurdles and winning the championship title.

Amidst the charges, Amusan’s attempt to defend her world title in Budapest last year was unsuccessful, resulting in a sixth-place finish.