American Brianna McNeal, Olympic 100m hurdles champion in Rio 2016, was suspended for five years for "obstructing the results management process, in violation of the anti-doping rules of the International Athletics Federation", announced this Friday the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
The athlete having appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the sanction, which takes effect from August 15, 2020, is however provisionally frozen pending the decision of the CAS which must take place before the Olympic Games in Tokyo (July 23 -8 August), specifies the IAU.
McNeal, who was provisionally suspended in January, can therefore compete until the end of the American selections, scheduled for June 27.
Olympic 100 m hurdles champion #BriannaMcNeal has been provisionally suspended from athletics after being charged with breaching anti-doping rules.
pic.twitter.com/rA0J0eBAta
- Jeyaram Anojan (@AnojanJeyaram) January 15, 2021
Sacred in Rio and world gold medalist in 2013 in Moscow, McNeal had already been suspended for a year between 2017 and 2018 for three breaches of his anti-doping whereabouts obligations and had thus missed the London Worlds in 2017.
The American Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspended her for only a year, after learning that two of her shortcomings were explained by a trip to Florida to receive an award and a meeting with then-US President Barack. Obama, at a reception at the White House.
Returning to competition in 2018, she was disqualified for a false start in the playoffs at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.
Shortly after the announcement of his provisional suspension, the athlete had proclaimed his innocence, saying he was "clean, honest and transparent" in a message posted on Instagram.
“Once this is all over, I'll give you more details on what's really going on.
The system works quite badly, if you ask me to talk about it, but it is a subject that I keep for another day, ”she added.
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