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Nigeria dominate the tracks as African Games enter closing stages

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Nigeria dominate the tracks as African Games enter closing stages

It was victory after victory for the Nigerian athletics team on Wednesday at the African Games in Accra. Time after time, they climbed the podium for victory ceremonies winning gold medals on each occasion.

Sprint star, Tobi Amusan lived up to her rating as she expectedly won the women’s 100m hurdles. The reigning  Commonwealth Games champion won the race with a time of 12.89s. She had a scare ahead of the final race as she had a false start, but was just cautioned.

The reigning Diamond League champion has now won the women’s 100m hurdles  three times in a row – Congo Brazzaville 2015, Rabat 2019 and Accra 2023.

Tobi Arnusan’s gold is Nigerian’s second gold on the day after Okezie Chidi Anthony won gold in men’s 400m.

Victory was also recorded in the women’s 4x100m relay. Team Nigeria anchored by Tobi Amusan, won the race with a time of 43.05. The other members of the team include Moforehan Abinusawa, Justina Eyakpobeyan and Olajide Olayinka.

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Nigeria  won four gold medals on Wednesday after beating Ghana in a close contest to win the 4×100 m Men’s relay. Nigeria won the race with a time of 38.41s beating the defending champions Ghana who clocked 38.43 while Team Liberia came third with a time of 38.73.

Ghana led the race after the first two changes of the baton but the final change to anchor leg Joseph Amoah had a hitch which led to Nigeria claiming the win.

Team Nigeria was made of Isreal Sunday, Itsekiri Usheoritse, Ekanem Consider and Akintola Alaba Olukunle.

 

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Athletics

Behold, CAS statement on Tobi Amusan

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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

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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.

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Athletics

Tobi Amusan floors WADA and World Athletics!

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Tobi Amusan’s Trial Begins Today -

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.”

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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.

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Athletics

Tobi Amusan thanks God for success at CAS in doping case

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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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