Amusan Off the Hook as AIU Fails to Appeal Ruling

The 30-day period of appeal opened to the Athletic Integrity Unit (AIU) to contest World Athletics’ lifting of the provisional ban on Tobi Amusan lapsed yesterday with no sign of the Nigerian going through another waiting period.

Amusan was suspended for three whereabouts failures. She won two of the three cases listed against her.

Last August when the provisional suspension clamped on the women’s 100m hurdlers world record holder was lifted, AIU was disappointed and vowed to 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.

AIU Head, Brett Clothier indicated the Monaco-based body was going to appeal. 

But that period allowed for the appeal has now expired. 

David Howman also told reporters at the last World Athletics Championship in Budapest: “We have some concern that it might set a precedent which will be difficult for future cases.”

However, while the matter lasted, Amusan who was devastated by the psychological trauma of having dope allegations hanging on her failed to defend her World Championship title as well as the Diamond League.

She has now dropped in ranking, sliding from 25th to 33rd in the women’s overall weekly rankings released by World Athletics ahead of  Diamond League final in Eugene, Oregon, USA this weekend. She was ranked fifth at the beginning of the year in her specialty.