Tobi Amusan, the reigning World 100m hurdles champion and record holder, has been given the green light to compete at the upcoming World Athletics Championships set to begin this Saturday in Budapest, Hungary.
In July, the 26-year-old athlete faced charges of three whereabouts failures, which constitutes an anti-doping rule violation for missing three out-of-competition tests within a 12-month period. Amusan had contested this charge.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said in a statement issued on Thursday, “A panel of the Disciplinary Tribunal, by majority decision, has found today that Tobi Amusan has not committed any Anti-Doping Rule Violation of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period.”
““AIU Head Brett Clothier has indicated the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is disappointed by this decision and will review the reasoning in detail before deciding whether to exercise its right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within the applicable deadline. The decision is currently confidential but will be published in due course,” the release continued.
The statement went on to outline that her provisional suspension has now been lifted, clearing the way for her to defend her title in Budapest.
“This morning I found out that the Independent Tribunal that heard my case has ruled that I did not violate the whereabouts rules and as a result, I will not be sanctioned and none of my results will be precluded,” Amusan said in a statement on her Instagram page on Thursday.
“I am thrilled to put this behind me and I look forward to defending my title at next week’s World Championships. I generally have been and consistently be an ally of CLEAN SPORT,” she added.
Amusan famously set a World Record (12.12) in the semi-finals of the sprint hurdles at last year’s World Championships in Eugene before running a wind-aided 12.06 to win gold.
This season, Amusan has a season’s best of 12.34 done at the Silesia Diamond League in July.
World champion Danielle Williams optimistic about Olympic debut after strong performance at Jamaica Athletics Invitational
Danielle Williams, the reigning 2023 World Championships gold medallist in the 100m hurdles, is feeling optimistic about her chances of making her first Olympic team following a promising showing at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational in Kingston on Saturday night.
Despite finishing second in the 100m hurdles with a season-best time of 12.46, Williams displayed confidence and determination as she spoke about her performance and her preparations leading up to the national trials at the end of June.
Looking on, it appeared that Williams had an early lead before losing momentum mid-race which allowed world-record holder, Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan to surge through to out-lean Williams at the line.
Amusan won in a world-leading 12.40 with the USA’s Christina Clemons finishing third in 12.54.
Williams explained what she believed occurred in the race.
"I didn’t feel like I slowed down in the middle of the race. I touched one of the hurdles which has been my Achilles heel so far," Williams commented. "Still working on it so that was probably what happened but I feel like I was still able to get back the momentum to through to the end. I feel like we’re going in the right direction."
Williams highlighted the importance of being healthy this season, expressing gratitude for her current condition compared to previous years. "Oh, we give God thanks for that because for the past few seasons this time of the year I’ve always been dealing with something," she explained. "So to make it so far and we’re doing very good, we’re managing the injuries, I think we’re in a good spot."
Looking ahead to the upcoming national trials, which are six weeks away, Williams deferred to her coach, Lennox Graham, but emphasized her confidence in her current form. "I don’t necessarily know how close we are," she admitted. "Coach Lennox Graham designed the workouts, I just show up so I don’t know where we are for that but I know we are in very good shape. We’re doing awesome in training, we’re healthy so we’re just giving God glory and thanking Him for bringing us so far and asking Him to carry us for the rest of the way."
The Jamaica Athletics Invitational also witnessed strong performances from other athletes, including Daniel Roberts of the USA, who won the 110m hurdles in 13.17, and Eric Edwards, also from the USA, who finished second with a time of 13.33. Jamaican hurdler Lafranz Campbell secured third place in the event with a time of 13.37.
Ricketts opens season with 14.50m to win triple jump at Jamaica Athletics Invitational
Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts provided her home fans with a solid performance to win the women’s triple jump at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.
The two-time World Championships silver medallist produced a best jump of 14.50m on her first attempt that proved to be enough to win in the end.
American Jasmine Moore had a best jump of 14.28m for second while Dominican World Indoor Champion Thea Lafond jumped 14.22m in the sixth and final round to clinch third.
“I feel exceptional. I usually get started with my season much earlier but this year we decided to get a few things corrected before coming into competition,” Ricketts said following the competition.
“Competing with world class athletes who have been doing well indoors as well really pushed me and gave me a good implication of where I’m at this season,” she added.
The 2022 Commonwealth Champion also spoke on competing in Jamaica.
“It’s always a pleasure to compete in Kingston. Usually, I try to do a meet here before going overseas to compete in the Diamond League. The crowd has warmed up to the jumps because of how well I’ve been doing overseas over the years. I’m always grateful for the support,” she said.
Great Britain’s Hughes, Asher-Smith get 200m victories at Jamaica Athletics Invitational
Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes and Dina Asher-Smith took victories in the men’s and women’s 200m events at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.
Hughes, a bronze medallist in the 100m at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, produced a season’s best 19.96 to win ahead of American Fred Kerley (20.17) and France’s Pablo Mateo (20.20).
“I feel really good. I think this is my second 200m race of the season. When I opened up I wasn’t ready so tonight I was just testing out the waters. We’re starting to sharpen up but not as much because it’s a long season,” Hughes said after the race.
“To run 19.96 now, I’m very happy. I just need to stay healthy and continue to execute my races accordingly and everything will be okay,” he added.
2019 World Champion Asher-Smith narrowly won the women’s event in 22.51 ahead of the Ivory Coast’s Jessika Gbai (22.53) with Jamaica’s Lanae-Tava Thomas running 22.84 for third.
Asher-Smith says she was hoping for a quicker time and has some things to work on.
“I’m in really good shape so I was hoping to get a quicker time today. Clearly, I’ve got some stuff that I’ve got to work on so I’m going to go back to Austin and work on them but I’m happy to have won here in Jamaica,” she said.
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