According to the AIU, James' sanction stems from three Whereabouts failures within 12 months. The 27-year-old, who now goes by James-Rose following her marriage to Jamari Rose in 2019, is listed among 22 athletes, who were handed suspensions in the month of March.
By virtue of the sanctions, James-Rose, a former world Under-20 400m champion, was banned from June 19, 2023, and will be ineligible until November 4, 2025.
James-Rose recently gave birth to her son Jair.
The news comes on the heels of reports that the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) had issued a statement in support of Bahamian Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who questioned why World Athletics didn’t sanction to Bahrani athlete who defeated her in the final of the 2019 World Championships 400m final in Doha.
Naser won in a world-leading 48.14, the third fastest time in history. However, she had missed three tests on March 12 and 16 and April 12 that year but was not suspended. One of those missed tests was being investigated while Naser was competing in Doha.
Naser was provisionally suspended on June 5, 2020 but was cleared by an Independent Tribunal in October after it was revealed during the hearing that the doping control officer turned up at the wrong address to test Naser.
However, the AIU announced on Twitter today that they would be challenging the decision.
The decision came after the tribunal dismissed a missed test after the tester knocked on a storage unit door rather than her apartment.
Naser was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit on June 5, for missing three drug tests prior to her participation in the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha Qatar where she won gold in the 400m in 48.14s the third fastest time in history.
The athlete was pleased about the outcome.
"Ms. Naser is, of course, extremely happy with the outcome. As one can imagine, this has been quite the ordeal for her and she can now put this behind her and focus on her training," said her representative Dr Emir Crowne.
The identity of the individual has not been made public but the Athletics Integrity Unit is looking at the matter, according to The Times, which quotes court papers lodged in the Southern District of New York.
Lira is facing jail time after pleading guilty to supplying performance-enhancing drugs to Olympians and a submission said to have been made by attorney Damian Williams lists a competitor from the United Kingdom as ‘Athlete 3’ in the case.
Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare, who was banned from athletics last year after a positive test emerged during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, is understood to be ‘Athlete 1’, while another unnamed Swiss athlete is also referenced.
The letter from Williams to the sentencing judge, which has also been seen by the BBC, states: “Athlete 1 was not the only Olympic competitor who received PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs) from Lira.
“Lira separately met with a third Olympic athlete who competed on behalf of the United Kingdom (Athlete 3) multiple times in the summer of 2021 for the purpose of providing him with PEDs.
“In short, Lira travelled across the United States to deliver and/or administer various drugs to various Olympic athletes, all with the calculated aim of impacting the outcome of the Tokyo Olympics.”
Uk Athletics declined to comment and the PA news agency has approached the Athletic Integrity Unit for a response.
Earlier this year, Taylor was charged by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for violating the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) Anti-Doping Code Article 2.3, after a six-month investigation determined that the 23-year-old evaded a doping test in November 2022.
WADA Anti-Doping Code Article 2.3 states: "Evading, Refusing or Failing to Submit to Sample Collection. The Evading Sample collection, or without compelling justification, refusing or failing to submit to Sample collection after notification as authorised in applicable anti-doping rules."
Taylor was reportedly contacted in November 2022 by anti-doping officials who had turned up to conduct a test at the location that he had indicated on his whereabouts form.
However, when the officials arrived, Taylor was not at the listed location and had not updated his whereabouts information. Instead, Taylor was at the Norman Manley International Airport, waiting to catch a flight that had previously been booked on his behalf.
Athletes who are a part of the registered testing pool are required to provide certain information, which is used by anti-doping organisations to locate athletes for out-of-competition testing.
If an athlete is deemed to have violated WADA Anti-Doping Code Article 2.3 which speaks to "Evading, Refusing or Failing to Submit to Sample Collection", a two or four-year ban is mandatory.
One year of the 30-month suspension has already elapsed.
Taylor, a finalist at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo and the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, will be eligible to compete again as on May 2025.
He last competed in August 2022.
The 23-year-old Olympic 400m finalist has been charged by the Athletics Integrity Unit with violating Article 2.3 of the World Anti-Doping Agency Code, which states: "Evading, Refusing or Failing to Submit to Sample Collection. The Evading Sample collection, or without compelling justification, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection after notification as authorized in applicable anti-doping rules.”
Taylor now faces a possible maximum penalty of a four-year ban from the sport.
According to reports, in November 2022, doping control officers (DCO’s) turned up at Taylor’s residence in Kingston to find that he was not there. When they called him, he informed them he was at the Norman Manley International Airport awaiting a flight to the United States that had been booked on his behalf.
The DCO’s turned up at the airport but Taylor was unable to produce a urine sample before his flight’s scheduled departure. He took the flight and as a consequence was deemed to have evaded the test.
However, according to Dr Crowne, the Canada-based Trinidadian attorney, the case against Taylor should not have been classified as such in the first place.
“Based on what’s in the public domain, I think, with all due respect, this is an over-reach by the anti-doping authorities. It’s a clear over-reach, quite frankly. The type of conduct envisioned by evasion and refusal and so on, is not the type of conduct at play here,” Dr Crowne opined.
“Here you have someone, who through failures of whereabouts information was boarding a plane. It’s not like he had power over the flight, power to stop the flight. Quite frankly, this should have been a whereabouts violation. This should not be an evasion or refusal allegation.”
Dr Crowne contends that the anti-doping authorities have to take some responsibility when athletes’ careers and reputations are in their hands.
“Here you have a young, black male Jamaican athlete and his career is on the line for what I genuinely believe is an over-reach by the anti-doping authorities. This is a whereabouts failure, at best,” he said.
“It’s not a refusal or evasion to board a scheduled flight that you had booked, That’s easily verifiable.
“I honestly hope that he gets the best outcome because the authorities have over-reached in this matter.”
Dr Crowne has successfully represented several Caribbean athletes in anti-doping matters over the past few years including Jamaica’s Briana Williams as well as quarter-miler Ryker Hylton.
He also represented 2019 World 400m champion Salwa Eid Naser in her whereabouts violation case in 2020.
The 33-year-old sprinter was banned for five years for the presence and use of multiple prohibited substances and five years for her refusal to co-operate with the AIU’s investigation into her case, the AIU said in a release on Friday.
According to the AIU, the sole arbitrator adjudicating the case concluded that the athlete’s use of multiple prohibited substances as part of an organized doping regimen in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympic Games was egregious conduct that amounted to aggravating circumstances under the Rules thereby warranting an additional period of ineligibility on top of the standard four-year sanction.
The sole arbitrator also recognized the AIU’s right to carry out investigations, including the imaging of electronic devices, and to impose sanctions when an athlete refuses to co-operate with an investigation and thereby frustrates the AIU’s ability to fulfil its mandate to protect the integrity of the sport of athletics.
In this instance, the sole arbitrator concluded that the athlete’s refusal to cooperate had denied the AIU the opportunity to discover evidence of possible further rule violations by her as well possible violations of the rules by others, for which he imposed an additional sanction of five years, the release said.
“We welcome the decision of the Disciplinary Tribunal; a ban of 10-year is a strong message against intentional and coordinated attempts to cheat at the very highest level of our sport. This is an outcome that was driven by our intelligence-led target testing as well as our commitment to investigate the circumstances behind a positive test,” said Brett Clothier, Head of the AIU.
On October 7, 2021, the AIU had pressed charges against Okagbare in relation to separate disciplinary matters.
First, for the presence and use of multiple (two) prohibited substances (human Growth Hormone (HGH) and recombinant erythropoietin (EPO)) for which Okagbare had been provisionally suspended on July 31, 2021, the day on which she had been scheduled to participate in the semi-finals of the Tokyo 2020 women’s 100m.
Subsequently, in accordance with Rule 12 of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules, she was charged with a refusal to co-operate with the AIU’s investigation into her case. The athlete has the right to appeal against the Disciplinary Tribunal’s decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 30-days.
His period of ineligibility will end on May 15, 2025, when Taylor will be 26 years old.
Taylor, speaking with Nationwide Radio (NNN), expressed his frustration at the reality that he will miss almost three years of his career when he will be at his peak.
“I haven’t made a decision about my future as yet but deep down I don’t feel I belong in this sport anymore because of the whole experience I had, I don’t think I have a place in this sport anymore,” he said.
The incident occurred during an Out-of-Competition Testing attempt in Kingston, Jamaica, on November 16, 2022, where Taylor failed to submit to sample collection as required by the Whereabouts information provided.
According to the NNN report, the 2018 World U20 400m silver medalist claims that the doping control officers arrived at his home shortly before 6:00 am when he was about to leave for the airport for an 8:00 am flight and was in the process of filing new whereabouts information since he was leaving the location he had initially entered into the Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS).
He claims the doping control officers informed him that since he did not complete the update overnight they would have to go through with testing him. He said he takes the blame for believing that if he did not allow the officers to test him, it would only go down as a missed test for which there would be no sanction.
Athletes have to have three missed tests for it to be considered an anti-doping violation.
Taylor’s actions initiated an AIU investigation, and on January 10, 2023, they informed Taylor of the potential failure to comply, issuing a Notice of Investigation. Taylor, through his legal representative, expressed a willingness to discuss an admission of committing an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) without prejudice. Consequently, he accepted a Provisional Suspension starting from January 19, 2023.
During an interview with AIU representatives on February 2, 2023, Taylor provided his explanation for the circumstances surrounding the possible failure to comply. The AIU conducted additional follow-up inquiries, leading to the issuance of a Notice of Allegation of ADRV on May 25, 2023, specifically for evading, refusing, or failing to submit to sample collection.
On June 1, 2023, Taylor confirmed his request to discuss an admission of committing an ADRV without prejudice. The AIU, Taylor, and the World Anti-Doping Agency entered into a Case Resolution Agreement, whereby Taylor admitted to the ADRV, leading to a 30-month period of ineligibility starting from the violation date, November 16, 2022, until May 15, 2025.
Additionally, Taylor's competitive results from November 16, 2022, until January 19, 2023, are disqualified, including the forfeiture of any associated medals, points, and prize money/prizes.
It was the second violation for the 2013 World Champion, having been banned for a year in 2016 by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after missing three drugs tests - two of them after she forgot to update her whereabouts details when she was attending a fete of honour in her hometown and travelling to the White House to meet the President Barack Obama.
However, the athlete has filed an appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), which has stayed the sanction until they have heard her case. CAS will hear the full case and make a ruling before the start of this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo on July 23.
This will allow her to compete at the USA Olympic trials which end on June 27. Should CAS uphold the ban, Rollins-McNeal, 29, will be banned until August 2024, which means she would also miss the Olympic Games in Paris, France.
Naser, 22, the 2019 World Championships Women 400m champion, was provisionally suspended on June 4, 2020, under Article 2.4 of the WADA Code. According to the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), Naser missed four drug tests within the last year, which amounts to an anti-doping violation.
The athlete has declared her innocence.
“I’ve never been a cheat. I will never be,” she said. “I only missed three drug tests, which is normal. It happens. It can happen to anybody. I don’t want people to get confused in all this because I would never cheat.”
Consequently, Dr Crowne, of the firm New City Chambers, told Sportsmax.TV on Sunday that he is now representing the beleaguered world champion.
"I don't want to reveal too much about our strategy, save to say that we've denied the charges and reserved all of Ms Naser's defences - including the right to seek a reduction in the period of Ineligibility, if any, and the fairness of disqualifying any applicable competitive results," Dr Crowne said.
The AIU was investigating the third of Naser’s missed tests in October 2019 while the transplanted Nigerian was winning her first world title in Doha. She won in 48.14, the third-fastest time in history while upsetting the heavy pre-race favourite Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas.
According to the AIU, a fourth missed test occurred in January 2020.
“The investigation into Ms Naser’s three whereabouts failures in 2019 was ongoing at the time of the Doha World Championships and she was not provisionally suspended at that time. Following the conclusion of the investigation and a fourth whereabouts failure in January 2020, a Notice of Charge was issued and Ms Naser was subject to an immediate provisional suspension,” the AIU said in a statement on the matter.
The independent Disciplinary Tribunal hears and determines all first instance disciplinary cases under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules or the World Athletics Integrity Code of Conduct.
The Disciplinary Tribunal is chaired by Charles Hollander QC and it currently has a panel of 47 tribunal members from 31 different countries covering all six areas recognised by World Athletics. The secretariat to the Disciplinary Tribunal is managed by Sport Resolutions, an independent dispute resolution service based in London, UK.
Dr Crowne, who is handling this matter pro bono, has had prior success in matters involving alleged whereabouts violations. He represented Jamaican 400m runner Riker Hylton, who was cleared of similar anti-doping violations in 2017.
The Nigerian champion, who is coached by Jamaican Olympian Lacena Golding-Clarke, has revealed that the AIU has slapped her with a charge that could see her suspended from the sport for up to two years.
"Today the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has charged me with an alleged rule violation for having 3 missed tests in 12 months,” she said. “I intend to fight this charge and will have my case decided by a tribunal of three arbitrators before the start of next month’s World Championships.”
Amusan holds the world record for the event and has been rounding into form after early season struggles with injury. On Tuesday, she followed her win in 12.34 at Sunday’s Diamond League meeting in Silesia with a 12.35 winning performance in Szekesfehervar, holding off 2019 world champion Nia Ali, who clocked 12.41 and Alaysha Johnson was third in 12.50.
She insists that she is innocent of the charges that the AIU has laid against her and expressed confidence that she will be cleared in short order.
“I am a CLEAN athlete, and I am regularly (maybe more than usual) tested by the AIU,” she wrote on Instagram. “I was tested within days of my third “missed test”. I have faith that this will be resolved in my favour and that I will be competing at the World Championships in August.”
