Tobi Amusan disputes doping charge, vows to clear her name
World record holder in the 100m hurdles, Tobi Amusan has vowed to clear her name after being charged with failing three drug tests….
Poster-girl of Nigerian athletics, Tobi Amusan, celebrates after winning Nigeria’s first ever gold medal in World Athletics Championship in Oregon, USA
World record holder in the 100m hurdles, Tobi Amusan has vowed to clear her name after being charged with failing three drug tests.
If the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) upholds the charge, the 26-year-old will be unable to compete at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest next month.
The two-time gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games denies using drugs to enhance performance.
Amusan, in her defence, says she intends to fight this charge and will have her case decided by a tribunal of three arbitrators before the start of next month’s World Championships in Budapest.
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“I am a clean athlete. I am regularly (maybe more than the usual) tested by the AIU.
“I have faith that this will be resolved in my favour and that I will be competing at the World Championships in August,” Amusan wrote on Instagram.
Amusan set a new world record in 100m hurdles at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon in July 2022, crossing the line in 12.12 seconds.
Athletics works to a ‘three strikes’ rule and it is alleged Amusan missed that number of doping tests in the space of 12 months.
World Athletics’ anti-doping rules state any athlete failing to declare their whereabouts for a doping test on three occasions over a 12-month period is ineligible to compete for two years, subject to a reduction to a minimum of one year depending on the degree of fault.
“I intend to fight these charges and my case will be decided by a tribunal of three referees before the start of the World Championships next month,” Amusan added.
Amusan won the Diamond League meet in Silesia on Sunday, her second win in the series this season after a victory in Stockholm.
“Tobi Amusan has today been charged and provisionally suspended for three Whereabouts Failures.
“The charge will be heard by the disciplinary tribunal and determined before the World Athletics Championships,” the AIU wrote in a tweet.
The World Athletics Championships will be held in the Hungarian capital from 19-27 August.