Amusan’s World title defence hangs in the balance amid AIU’s silence

The world’s attention is focused on Tobi Amusan, the Nigerian phenomenon who holds the world record in the 100-meter hurdles, with the 2023 World Athletics Championships just around the corner.

However, a cloud of doubt hangs over her participation because Amusan’s interim suspension imposed by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for skipping three whereabouts tests in 12 months remains in effect.

According to the AIU, a provisional suspension occurs when an athlete or other person is temporarily barred from participation in any athletic competition or activity pending the outcome of a hearing held under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules or the Integrity Code of Conduct.

The AIU and the athlete’s camp have been silent after making the official announcement of Amusan’s temporary ban in a brief statement on 19 July.

But the days are ticking away and with the World Championship approaching, many fear for Amusan, who has been unequivocal about her innocence; and stridently insisted she was a clean athlete.

Seyi Ogundare, a track and field enthusiast based in the United States, empathises with Amusan’s situation.

He acknowledges her remarkable track record but concedes she presently finds herself on the wrong side of the law, even if her offence was unintended.

“If it turns out that Amusan is not guilty and finally competes at the World Championships, then I think she should sue the AIU for toying with her emotions and denying her the right frame of mind to prepare for the defence of her title,” Mr Ogundare told PREMIUM TIMES.

He further emphasised the gravity of Amusan’s situation, “This is not a case of a positive blood sample that one can successfully argue about mix-ups, doctors’ prescriptions, or exploiting any other loophole. This is a case of established missed tests, and the rule is clear about the repercussions. You can only argue for lesser sanctions if you have a genuine case, but you cannot argue to be let off the hook.”

For Beverley Agbakoba-Onyejianya, a regulatory compliance and professional sports lawyer, the onus is on Amusan’s legal team to prove her case, but she ruled out any chance of the athlete instituting any legal case against the AIU for her predicament. “Personally, I don’t think she is meant to stop training while trying to prove her case. It is unfortunate these are age-long rules that have been in existence for a long time.

“All athletes, especially of her calibre, know these tests are done, whether on a routine basis or on-the-spot checks and missing them comes with heavy penalties. These penalties seem quite heavy to lay people and to the media,” she told PREMIUM TIMES.

She added: “Of course, we all are rooting for Amusan. She has done the country proud. It is in times like this when athletes are at their peak that they even need to be more careful. For me, I don’t think whatever is happening now is anything personal, and so the media should not paint it like that.

“The rules are there, and they are for all athletes to abide by-that is what guarantees the integrity of the sports.”

Whereabouts testing is a key part of the anti-doping process, as it allows drug testers to randomly test athletes at any time, anywhere in the world.

It is widely perceived that by failing to provide accurate and timely whereabouts information, athletes are making it more difficult for testers to find them and test them, which could give them an unfair advantage.

The rule

The AIU’s rules state that an athlete who misses three whereabouts tests within 12 months is guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, and the penalty for this is a two-year suspension. However, the AIU has the discretion to reduce the suspension to one year, depending on the degree of fault.

The key requirement in Rule 15 is that an athlete from a ‘Category A’ country (like Amusan) must undergo at least three no-notice, out-of-competition tests (urine and blood), conducted no less than 3 weeks apart, in the 10 months leading up to a major event.

Only then do such athletes become eligible to represent their national team at the World Athletics Championships or the Olympic Games. In trying to separate facts from emotions, the AIU earlier this month released a statement; detailing its rigorous but transparent procedures.

Under its Registered Testing Pool (RTP), the AIU is responsible for testing elite international-level athletes, mainly those in the Top 10 of their discipline–both men and women–who are likely to enjoy success at major international events. This is Amusan’s category.

This emphasis is directly tied to the AIU’s testing plan in elite athletics (particularly the Olympics and World Championships, followed by the Diamond League): to defend the integrity of the sport, specifically the finals and podium positions.

The case of Amusan is not an isolated instance. Several high-profile athletes, including Brianna McNeal, Christian Coleman, Salwa Eid Naser, Elijah Manangoi, Wilson Kipsang, and Raven Saunders, have previously faced suspensions for tripping over the whereabouts testing threshold.

A medical doctor and sports medicine expert, Jimi Osinaike, in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, detailed the importance of out-of-competition tests and why the AIU appears very strict about it.

“What the law says is that if you have three consecutive misses, then you’ve committed a violation. “If you have a Non-analytical testing violation, what the rules say is that you can get as many as two years, and one case that comes to mind is Chris Coleman, who missed the Tokyo Olympics because of whereabouts testing, so he was banned for two years.

“As we all know, when it comes to that, the AIU hardly gets it wrong or misses it. So we are only hoping at this point that the lawyers of Tobi Amusan can prove a point. I read somewhere that she agreed to have missed three tests. So, I mean if she has admitted that, then the case is already closed, but some may argue that AIU had tested her regularly prior, but the rules state it clearly.”

Coe’s body language

While the final verdict on Amusan’s case remains to be seen, recent statements from World Athletics President Sebastian Coe raise pertinent questions about the athlete’s predicament. Me Coe’s candid remarks underscore a sense of disbelief regarding athletes who criticise the system’s fairness. He noted, “The vast majority of athletes who are not cheating have no problem with the whereabouts system.

”The issue is very simple. They’re asked to identify for one hour a day where they’re going to be and I don’t think that is brain surgery.

“The same athletes who are complaining about whereabouts are posting every hour of the day. I accept that things can change, but you have the opportunity to go online and explain where you will be. Every athlete I know takes this seriously.

“I’m sorry, it isn’t that complicated. I think that it lends confidence. Our sport has improved its reputation more than any other sport in the last two years by a distance and our reputation has come back because we’ve been prepared to tackle the issues around doping.

“Making the Athletics Integrity Unit independent, taking the politics out, has created systems that are doing what they were supposed to do.”

Amusan as a clean athlete and precedent

Amusan vehemently denies any wrongdoing and has announced her intention to appeal the provisional suspension. She stated, “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 this will be resolved in my favour.”

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) stands firmly by Amusan’s side, awaiting the outcome of the Disciplinary Committee’s deliberations. AFN President Tonobok Okowa expressed hopes for a swift resolution, saying, “Our prayer now is for the AIU to give Tobi a fast hearing. If she is cleared before the World Championships, then she can compete for us. But I am really worried,” he told the Guardian Newspapers just after Amusan’s provisional suspension was announced.

Samuel Onikeku, the Federation’s Technical Director is also hopeful of a positive resolution in Amusan’s case

At last year’s World Championships in Eugene, Oregon Eugene, Amusan stunned fans and opponents alike when she broke the world record in the 100m hurdles semi-finals in a time that was the largest improvement for a world record in the event in 42 years. She then ran a faster time in the final 90 minutes later, only for an illegal wind to make it illegible.

Though she is yet to come close to that peak performance, Amusan has set records at the Commonwealth Games, Diamond League, and the All Nigeria Championships. As the countdown to the World Championships continues, Amusan’s fate for now hangs in the balance.

If found guilty, she not only faces the prospect of missing the prestigious event scheduled from 19 to 27 August in Budapest, Hungary but also being sidelined from all international competitions until the AIU lifts her suspension.

There is a good precedent to lean on, as the AFN hopes the AIU lifts Amusan’s ban. In 2020, American 200-meter athlete Gabrielle Thomas had a similar ban lifted. AIU had similarly docked her for missing three whereabouts testing, but she proved a case of a communication challenge with the approved tester.

“Phone tracking data and multiple witnesses will conclusively show that I was at the exact location I established in my whereabouts and that the doping control officer simply failed to locate me and failed to follow proper protocol,” Thomas said in the statement.

Amusan has given such an excuse and just needs to prove one of the three missed whereabouts tests is inconclusive for her to have a case and for her ban to be suspended. Amusan is arguing the tester did not do enough to contact her after she moved apartments.

Amusan is said to have moved to a new apartment but did not communicate a change of address to the AIU. When the tester did not see her at the old place, the person reported she was not available for testing. The testing protocol includes phone calls/texts to the athlete and a one-hour wait before the tester can report that the athlete was not unavailable.

Elite athletes have to be proactive

To avoid finding themselves in this unpleasant situations like this, the sports medicine expert, Osinaike advises athletes to always be proactive. “First, you have to figure out if you are in the testing pool at all. If you are in the National testing pool, or your domestic testing pool, then confirm with your athletic federation and confirm those details with your national Anti-Doping organisation. Then you would need to familiarise yourself with the ADAM system and always be available with your whereabouts details.

“It could be very challenging for athletes to update that whereabouts system, If you are an elite athlete that travels a lot and has to focus a lot on your sports, what some athletes have done, was to give other people jobs to track all these tests and laws for them, while they focus on the sport.

“And if that must be done, you must choose a very reliable person, a person who understands the system, and the World Anti-Doping Agency rules, guidelines, and all of those things.

“In summary, there is no excuse for elite athletes to be found wanting or guilty when it comes to whereabouts testing,” he concluded.

Amusan and her legal team have less than 10 days to have her ban lifted so she can defend her title in Budapest.