AIU charges Tobi Amusan with doping test violation

Nigeria’s award winning hurdler, Tobi Amusan, has been charged with a doping test violation by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for allegedly missing three tests within 12 months.

Amusan, 25, announced the shocking development in a post on her Instagram page early Wednesday morning.

The revelation came amidst her recent successes in the athletic circuit in which she won three races consecutively lately.

Amusan won the Diamond League Meetings in Stockholm and Silesia and the Gyulai István Memorial on Tuesday.

However, the Nigerian athlete said she is innocent of the charges, vowing to challenge it ahead of next month’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

She is expected to defend the world title she won in 2022 in Oregon in Budapest.

She wrote: Today, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has charged me an alleged rule violation for having missed 3 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 the next World Championships: I am a CLEAN ATHLETE and I am regularly; (maybe more than usual) tested by the AIU. I was tested within days of my third ‘missed test’ I have FAITH this will be resolved in my favour and I will be competing at the World Championships in August”

However, Amusan has requested for her privacy to be respected by the media.

“In the meantime, I ask that the media respect my privacy while I address these allegations in the upcoming arbitration,” Amusan said.

According to World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules, any combination of three whereabouts failures (Filing Failure and/or Missed Test) within a period of 12 months constitutes an anti-doping rule violation, punishable with 2 years’ ineligibility subject to a reduction to a minimum of 1 year depending on the degree of fault.