Athletics’ ruling global body, the IAAF, on Thursday wished Veronica Campbell-Brown “much success”, just days after the Jamaican sprinter was cleared of doping.
Campbell-Brown, a two-time Olympic 200m champion, has not competed since testing positive for a banned diuretic, hydrochlorothiazide, last May.
But the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled last month that it had upheld the Jamaican’s appeal, and she was cleared to compete at the World Indoor Championships in Sopot which kick off on Friday.
“I lost out on the opportunity to compete for most of 2013 and the chance to defend my world (outdoor) 200m title. However, I press on,” said the 31-year-old, who has won seven Olympic medals.
Lamine Diack, president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), said there were no hard feelings towards the Jamaican.
“I wish her all success here,” Diack said. “She tested positive and she accepted the suspension.
“But the decision taken didn’t satisfy her. CAS agreed and qualified her to compete, so she runs in Sopot.
“We wish her much success and that’s all we can say.”
Campbell-Brown, who has also accrued nine world outdoor championship medals, had contested that the rules of the IAAF had not been respected in her case and “had compromised the integrity of the urine sample she gave”.
She said that there was no proof that she had violated the anti-doping laws — the three-person CAS panel agreed with her.
They will not publish the reasons for their ruling for several weeks.
The ruling was a personal triumph for Campbell-Brown as it was she who had demanded CAS judge her case after the Jamaican authorities handed her a two-year suspension on the recommendation of the IAAF anti-doping commission after initially only giving her a slap on the wrist.
It now also means that Campbell-Brown will be able to bid for a hat-trick of world indoor 60m titles when she takes to Sopot’s track.