US sprinter Erriyon Knighton has been banned for four years after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld appeals by World Athletics and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) over his doping case.
The 21-year-old, a 200m world silver medallist in 2023, tested positive for Epitrenbolone, an anabolic steroid, during an out-of-competition test in May 2024. He argued that the result came from eating oxtail contaminated with trenbolone, a livestock growth promoter used in U.S. cattle, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
An earlier U.S. Anti-Doping Agency tribunal had cleared Knighton of fault or negligence, allowing him to compete in the U.S. Olympic trials. However, World Athletics and WADA appealed, with CAS ruling that his explanation fell short of proof and was “statistically impossible.”
Knighton’s ban is effective immediately, with credit for a provisional suspension he served last year, ruling him out of next year’s World Championships in Tokyo.
