AIU Takes Amusan’s Case To CAS

By: Gyang Dakwo

The Athletics Integrity Union (AIU) has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sports, CAS, to overturn the decision that cleared Tobi Amusan for any wrongdoing after the former world champion allegedly missed three whereabouts tests within a 12-month period.

This is coming less than 24 hours after she successfully defended and won her third consecutive Diamond League 100m hurdles.

The AIU provisionally suspended Amusan for missing three tests in the span of a year, but an appeals panel overturned the suspension, which allowed her to compete earlier this summer at the world championships, where she finished sixth.

“I’m here competing and that’s all that matters. Next,” she said, in a testy series of exchanges with reporters after the opening heats, when she was repeatedly asked whether the uncertainty had bothered her.

On Sunday, the Nigerian hurdler closed out the Diamond League season with a victory at the Prefontaine Classic.

On the same track in Eugene, Oregon, at worlds in 2022, Amusan shocked fans by running a world record 12.12 seconds in the 100 hurdles in the semifinal round. She won the gold in a time of 12.06 that did not go into the record books because the tailwind was too strong.

Two months ago, she took to social media to announce she had been accused of a so-called whereabouts violation. Elite athletes have to provide detailed logs of where they will be during parts of each day so they can be approached for “no-notice” tests. Those who miss three tests in the span of the year can be sanctioned.

Her suspension was lifted just before the championships, where AIU chair David Howman said an appeal to CAS was possible. He said the decision that cleared Amusan left AIU with “some concern that it might set a precedent that would make it difficult for future cases.”