Tobi Amusan, the world record holder in the women’s hurdles, announced on Wednesday that she has been charged with an alleged anti-doping rule breach, casting doubt on her participation in next month’s global championships.
“Today the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has charged me with an alleged rule violation for having 3 missed tests in 12 months,” she said in a post on Instagram.
At last year’s World Athletics Championships, the Nigerian athlete set the current world mark for the women’s 100m hurdles of 12.12 seconds.
Amusan, 26, promised to resolve the charges against her before this year’s tournament, which will be place 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,” she said.
“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 that this will be resolved in my favour and that I will be competing at the World Championships in August.”
Amusan competed in the Silesia Diamond League competition in Poland on Sunday, setting a new meeting record of 12.34 seconds.
She placed third in the women’s 100m hurdles at the Golden Spike sports competition in the Czech Republic last month, losing behind defending Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, who won in 12.42 seconds.
When asked about breaking her world record time, she told reporters, “Nothing is impossible, and 11 seconds? Most emphatically.”
She was less certain about an ongoing argument about raising hurdles to prioritize technique over speed.
“Don’t do that, don’t raise the hurdles. Please,” said Amusan, who is 5’1 (156 centimetres) tall.
