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The Athletics Association of Nigeria (AFN) and many other followers of the sport heaved a sigh of relief yesterday when the news broke that 100-metre hurdles women’s world record holder, Oluwatobilola Amusan, has been cleared of the dope charges levelled against her by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of World Athletics.
Amusan was suspended provisionally by the AIU pending investigations of her missed whereabout tests early last month.
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The Nigerian, who broke the 100-metre hurdles record at the last World Championships in Oregon, U.S., was assumed to have committed an offence punishable with at least two years suspension from athletics, as she was said to have dodged antidoping tests by AIU agents. But from the onset, she insisted on her innocence, saying there must have been miscommunication somewhere.
According to reports from Budapest, Hungary, venue of the World Championships, which begin tomorrow, a tribunal of three arbitrators exonerated Amusan from two out of the three test failures when the Nigerian argued that the tester did not do enough to locate her.
Sources at the AFN said the athlete will now join her compatriots in Budapest ahead of tomorrow’s opening ceremony of the World Championships.
A tweet posted by AIU on X (Twitter) read: “AIU Head Brett Clothier has indicated it 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 within the applicable deadline.”
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