Nigerian Hurdler Tobi Amusan Cleared of Anti-Doping Violation Ahead of Paris Olympics

Nigerian hurdler Tobi Amusan, the world record holder in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, has been cleared of an anti-doping rule violation by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) just weeks before the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had appealed a decision by the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal (WADT) that found Amusan did not commit an anti-doping rule violation related to missed whereabouts tests. The AIU and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) challenged the WADT’s decision, but CAS rejected their appeals and confirmed that Amusan did not violate any anti-doping rules.

“Accordingly, the Challenged Decision in which the WADT considered that Tobi Amusan did not violate Rule 2.4 of the WA Anti-Doping Rules (WA ADR) and that no period of ineligibility should be imposed on the Athlete is confirmed,” CAS stated in a press release.

The CAS panel unanimously acknowledged that Amusan committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a third missed test, which would have been the third whereabouts failure within a 12-month period.

Amusan, who set the world record of 12.12 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, expressed her relief at the decision. “I am thrilled to put this behind me and focus on my preparations for the Olympics,” she said.

The 26-year-old Nigerian athlete had been provisionally suspended last year while the AIU investigated the charges, but her suspension was lifted before the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, where she finished sixth.

Amusan’s case highlights the complexities of anti-doping rules, which require athletes to provide detailed logs of their whereabouts for unannounced testing. The decision to clear Amusan will allow her to compete in the upcoming Paris Olympics, where she will be one of the favorites in the women’s 100-meter hurdles event.