World record-holder in women's hurdles and Nigerian athlete, Tobi Amusan, is facing an alleged anti-doping rule violation, as reported by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). The accusation stems from her alleged failure to complete three tests within a 12-month period.
Tobi Amusan has responded to the report on her Instagram, expressing her determination to contest the charges and have her case heard by a tribunal of three arbitrators before the upcoming World Championships in Budapest next month.
"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," Amusan declared on her social media platform.
According to World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules, the applicable sanction for three 'whereabouts' failures is two years' ineligibility, but it can be reduced to a minimum of one year based on the athlete's degree of fault.
Athletics has a three-strikes rule that states if an athlete does not provide accurate whereabouts information for a doping test they may incur a declaration of a missed test, or a filing failure. Three strikes in a 12-month period is an anti-doping violation.
Amusan won the Silesia Diamond League meet on Sunday, her second Diamond League victory this season.
She became the first Nigerian world champion and world record holder in an athletics event with her 2022 victory in Eugene, Ore., where she set the world record of 12.12 seconds.
Amusan was part of Nigeria’s 4×100 relay squad that won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games but were then stripped of their medal after anchor runner Grace Nwokocha failed a doping test.
Another Nigerian, Blessing Okagbare is serving an 11-year ban for multiple doping violations, stemming from a federal investigation into an El Paso doctor who pleaded guilty to distributing human-growth hormone and other banned substances.