AIU lifts Tobi Amusan’s suspension, Nigerian cleared to compete in Budapest

The Athletics Integrity Unity (AIU) on Thursday, annoucned that Tobi Amusan has been cleared of an anti-doping rule violation.

AIU made their decision known in a statement, where it noted that Amusan’s provisional suspension has been lifted.

In July, AIU handed the Nigerian athlete a provisional suspension for allegedly “missing three tests in 12 months”.

AIU added that Amusan’s case had been transferred to a disciplinary tribunal.

Consequently, the world champion was excluded from the 26-athlete team submitted by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) for the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

Similarly, her name on the World Athletics (WA) official list of athletes for the competition was accompanied by the caveat that her participation is based on the ruling on the case with AIU.

In the latest statement, AIU said a “majority decision” of the disciplinary tribunal ruled that Amusan “has not committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period”.

The anti-doping body added that the Nigerian athlete’s suspension has been lifted with immediate effect.

The decision means Amusan would be allowed to participate and defend her women’s 100m hurdles titles at the 2023 World Athletics Championships billed to hold in Budapest, Hungary, from August 19 to 27.

However, Brett Clothier, head of AIU, said the body will review the reasoning in detail and decide whether to exercise its right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within the applicable deadline.