Sprinter Thomas cleared by AIU in whereabouts failure case
(Reuters) - American sprinter Gabrielle Thomas's provisional suspension for allegedly failing to make herself available for anti-doping tests has been lifted, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Friday.
Thomas, twice a 200 metres winner at the Lausanne Diamond League, had been banned in May by the AIU for allegedly missing three tests in a 12-month period, a violation of anti-doping rules.
But according to the AIU's Twitter account, Thomas provided new evidence in June and as a result one of the missed tests cannot be established and so no anti-doping rule violation has been committed.
When the suspension was announced, Thomas said in a statement made available to Reuters that one of the missed tests was not valid and that she expected to be cleared of charges.
"Phone tracking data and multiple witnesses will conclusively show that I was at the exact location I established in my whereabouts and that the doping control officer simply failed to locate me and failed to follow proper protocol," Thomas said in the statement.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
