Athletics
Lagos ready for Open Athletics Championships
The President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobok Okowa as well as the Chairman of the Lagos State Athletics Association (LAA), Solomon Alao are both optimistic ahead of Thursday’s Lagos Open Athletics Championship.
Among other things, the one-day athletics meet billed for the Teslim Balogun Stadium affords Team Nigeria another chance to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics Relay events having failed in its last bid at the National trials held at Yaba College of Technology’s Sporting Complex.
Okowa and Alao told journalists in Lagos the athletes are all in high spirits and a conducive environment to aid the qualification to Tokyo has been put in place at the Lagos Open Athletics Championship.
“We are trying to support our athletes and give them an enabling environment to qualify for the Olympics.
“If they fail to achieve that now, that means we might have to wait for another four years, Nigeria deserves to be in the Relay events at the Olympics and that’s what we are trying to achieve” the Lagos State Athletics Association boss stated.
On his part, the AFN President assured that the athletes are well motivated to deliver on the required qualifying times for the Olympics at the Lagos meet even as he enjoined for the support of all.
“We already have a good pep talk with the athletes and we are doing our best to make them ready.
“I am sure that the athletes are in good spirits, ready and I pray we get the qualification. We want everyone to come around to cheer the team to victory
“We need to encourage our athletes and not talk them down.
“We need everyone to work together as a team so as to achieve victory.” Okowa appealed.
Meet Director for the Lagos Open Athletics Championship, Yussuf Alli, assured of a seamless organisation
Alli said: “We felt they failed to get the time at the National trials after they exhausted themselves in their individual events. We are optimistic they are well-rested now and good to go for another shot at qualifying for the Olympics”.
Apart from the Relay events, the list of events to be competed for at the Lagos Open Athletics Championship includes the 5,000 meters, 400 meters’ hurdles, 100 meters, 800 meters, 400 meters, and 100 meters among others.
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan is the winner as the Court of Arbitration for Sports, CAS has rejected the appeals filed by World Athletics and WADA.
The decision confirms the decision taken by the World Athletics disciplinary tribunal finding that Tobi Amusan did not commit any anti-doping rule violation.
Here is the full statement of CAS.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeals filed by
World Athletics (WA) and by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the decision issued on 17 August 2023 (the Challenged Decision) by the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal (WADT) in relation to the hurdler Oluwatobiloba (Tobi) Amusan (Nigeria).
Accordingly, the Challenged Decision in which the WADT considered that Tobi Amusan did not violate Rule 2.4 of the WA Anti-Doping Rules (WA ADR) and that no period of ineligibility should be imposed on the Athlete is confirmed.
The Athlete was initially charged with committing an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under Rule 2.4 WA ADR following three alleged Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period.
In their respective appeal to CAS, WA and WADA had sought the imposition of a two-year period of ineligibility. The CAS Panel held a hearing on 19 January 2024. Having deliberated, the CAS Panel has issued its decision today dismissing both appeals. The CAS Panel unanimously acknowledged that the Athlete committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a missed test, alleged by WA and WADA, which would have been the third Whereabouts Failure committed within a 12-month
period. Accordingly, the CAS Panel concluded that the Athlete did not commit an ADRV and that the Challenged Decision should be confirmed.
The reasoned award will be published by CAS unless the parties request confidentiality.
Nigeria’s Paris 2024 medal hopeful, Tobi Amusan has been cleared as the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the World Athletics.
She is therefore cleared to feature at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Amusan is the 100m hurdles world record holder.
The athlete was charged in July last year with missing three anti-doping tests in 12 months but was cleared of the offence by the Disciplinary Tribunal of the sport’s governing body, World Athletics.
The Integrity Unit of the World Athletics appealed the clearance which has now been dismissed by CAS, the final arbiter in the case.
CAS in its statement remarked that its panel “unanimously acknowledged that the athlete committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a missed test, alleged by WA and WADA, which would have been the third Whereabouts Failure committed within 12 months.”
Amusan set the world record of 12.12 seconds in the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July 2022 and went on to win the title.
She finished sixth in the world championships in Budapest last year.
World Athletics’ anti-doping rules say any athlete failing to declare their whereabouts for a doping test on three occasions over 12 months is ineligible to compete for two years.
An elated Nigeria’s 100m hurdles world record holder, Tobi Amusan has thanked God for her success in an appeal filled against her by the Athletics Integrity Unit of the World Athletics.
Had the appeal been upheld, ,Amusan would have has to miss the Paris 2024 Olymoics.
“It’s ALL GOD” Amusan said in an Instagram post alongside the court’s announcement.
Amusan, who broke the world record during her semi-final race at the 2022 world championships, is a hot favourite in her signature event at the Paris Olympics, which begin on July 26.
World Athletics and WADA did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
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