Women’s hurdles world record-holder, Tobi Amusan, on Wednesday said she has been charged with an alleged anti-doping rule violation, casting doubt on her participation in next month’s world 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.
The Nigerian athlete set the current world record for the women’s 100m hurdles of 12.12 seconds at last year’s World Athletics Championships.
Amusan, 26, vowed to resolve the charges against her before this year’s competition, set to be held next month in Budapest
On Sunday, Amusan took part in the Silesia Diamond League competition in Poland, where she set a new meeting record of 12.34 seconds.
At the Golden Spike athletics meet in the Czech Republic last month, she finished in third place in the women’s 100m hurdles, losing to reigning Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, who claimed victory in 12.42sec.
When asked by reporters about improving her world record pace, she said: “Nothing is impossible and 11 seconds? Most definitely”.
But she was less confident about an ongoing debate on raising hurdles to give priority to technique over speed.
“Don’t do that, don’t raise the hurdles. Please,” said Amusan, who is 5’1 (156 centimetres) tall.
