Doping-US sprinter Knighton banned for four years for doping violation

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FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Athletics - Mens 200m Semi-Finals - Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - August 07, 2024. Erriyon Knighton of United States reacts after winning semi final 3. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/ File Photo

American sprinter Erriyon Knighton was handed a four-year ban for an Anti-Doping Rule Violation after the Court of Arbitration for Sport partially upheld appeals by World Athletics and the World Anti-Doping Agency on Friday.

His ban is effective from Friday with credit for the provisional suspension he served between April 12 and June 19 last year, preventing the 21-year-old from competing at the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo.

Knighton, a 200 metres world silver medallist in 2023, was charged with an ADRV in May 2024 when an out-of-competition doping test revealed the presence of Epitrenbolone, an anabolic steroid on WADAs prohibited list.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) attempted to sanction Knighton but an Arbitration Tribunal said he should not be banned as he bore no fault or negligence in connection to the use and presence of the substance.

The decision had cleared him to compete in the U.S. Olympic trials.

However, World Athletics and the global anti-doping body appealed to sports highest court against USADA and Knighton to set aside the Tribunals decision and both appeals were considered jointly.

WA and WADA considered that the evidence submitted by the athlete and his explanations of a meat contamination scenario fell short of the required proof of source