Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan, the women’s hurdles world record holder, has stated that she had been accused with an alleged rule infringement for missing three drug tests in a 12-month period.
Amusan also promised to resolve the charges against her before this year’s competition, which will be held in Budapest next month.
The 26-year-old Nigerian athlete revealed this in a post on her Instagram account.
“I am a CLEAN athlete, and I am regularly (maybe more than usual) tested by the AIU,” she added, referring to the Athletics Integrity Unit, which supervises doping issues in international track and field and is the agency that charged her with the violation.
She said, “Today the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has charged me with an alleged rule violation for having 3 missed tests in 12 months.
“I intend to fight this charge and will have my case decided by a tribunal of 3 arbitrators before the start of next month’s World Championships.”
According to the AIU, an athlete who misses tests during a 12-month period is guilty of anti-doping rule violation, and the penalty includes a two-year suspension, which may be reduced to a minimum of one year depending on the degree of fault.
Missing three doping tests can result in a two-year penalty, though exceptions can be made in certain circumstances.
Tobi Amusan recently set a new meet record of 12.34 seconds to win the 100m hurdles event at the Silesia Diamond League.
The Nigerian sports icon stormed to the finish line first, edging out former world record holder, Kendra Harrison in a keenly contested race.
Following the win, the trackstar confirmed that she had run her season’s best despite her continuous battle with injuries. “It was not easy for me with injuries in my hamstring and my knee.
“I had to trust my coach and my work. I was just running. Honestly, I had no idea that I won when I crossed the finish line,” she said.
