World 400m champion Salwa Eid Naser gets 2-year ban for anti-doping violation, to miss Tokyo Olympics

Modified Jul 01, 2021 10:46 IST

Salwa Eid Naser, the 400m world champion from Bahrain, will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics after she was handed a two-year ban for missed drug tests in 2019. The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) on Wednesday upheld World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and World Athletics’ appeals which challenged an October 2020 Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) ruling.

The 23-year-old sprinter was cleared by the AIU disciplinary tribunal to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.

CAS said in a statement:

“Salwa Eid Naser has been sanctioned with a period of ineligibility of two years, commencing on 30 June 2021.”

Naser’s ban will end in early 2023.

Salwa Eid Naser’s ban timeline

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has upheld the appeals by World Athletics & WADA regarding 400m world champion Salwa Eid Naser for missing drug tests between March 2019 & January 2020. She’s been banned 2 years. All results from Nov. 25, 2019 to now have been DQ’ed. pic.twitter.com/1FwZ3BlrYY
— Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) June 30, 2021

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In October 2019, the Bahraini runner won the world title in Doha, clocking 48.14s. It was the fastest time recorded since 1985 and is the third-quickest in history.

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In June 2020, Naser was handed a temporary suspension pending a hearing on her case for missing three drug tests between March 2019 and January 2020. She, however, said the missed drug tests came before the Doha World Championships. Naser told NBC in June 2020:

“I have never cheated and will never do it. I missed three drug tests and it’s normal. It can happen to anybody. I would never take performance-enhancing drugs. I believe in talent and I know I have it.”

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CAS, in its Wednesday ruling, stated that Salwa Eid Naser’s approach in the matter was irresponsible and serious:

“The whole approach to the whereabouts requirements was inexcusably irresponsible… She attempted to escape the consequences of her actions by giving evidence which the panel found to be untruthful.”

Athletes must give reports on a WADA online platform about their whereabouts for no-notice testing outside the competition. A violation means an athlete did not provide the correct information and was not present at the location when the sample collectors arrived.