Sport
Veronica Campbell-Brown cleared by Court of Arbitration for Sport – will return to competition
Veronica Campbell-Brown at the 2012 London Olympic Games. PHOTO/File
Decorated Jamaican sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown has revealed that she has been cleared to return to the track by the world sports court some 10 months after returning a positive test at a meet.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has confirmed my innocence and she intends to focus on advancing her career, including regaining her world 200-meter title next year, Campbell-Brown said in a Monday statement.
The 3-time Olympic gold medalist said the last several months have brought much “pain and suffering,” including “insensitive and ill-informed media remarks,” but her religious faith, family, friends and fans helped her cope.
“I harbor too much self-respect and a similar respect for the purity of competition to resort to illegal means to success,” said Campbell-Brown, who has been one of the cornerstones of Jamaica’s remarkable sprinting success for a decade.
The 31-year-old athlete has won 7 Olympic medals in all, including the 2004 and 2008 gold in the 200-meters. She also won gold in the 4×100 relay at the 2004 Athens Games. In London, she won bronze in the 100 and silver as part of the 4×100 relay team.
The news that she returned a positive test for a banned diuretic at the Jamaica International Invitational in May shocked Campbell-Brown. In June, her manager issued a statement saying she was determined to clear her name. She apologized to her fans, sponsors and others for any embarrassment or hurt the “devastating news has caused.”
She was suspended while a disciplinary panel reviewed the case and missed the Jamaican nationals and world championships in Moscow.
In October, a Jamaican disciplinary panel recommended a public reprimand without any period of ineligibility. Earlier, a spokesman for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said the case appeared to involve a “lesser” offence of unintentional use of a banned substance.
Under the World Anti-Doping Code, some diuretics are classified as a “specified substance,” a designation for drugs that might have been consumed without intent to enhance performance. Campbell-Brown tested positive for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.
A copy of the ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport was not available and it was not immediately clear when it would be made public.
Campbell-Brown intends to compete at the world indoor championships next month in Poland.
Source: Associated Press