Jamaican Sprinter Campbell-Brown Free to Compete Again After Failed Drug Test

Jamaican sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown has been cleared to resume her career by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), according to her lawyer Howard Jacobs.

The two-time Olympic 200 metres champion was suspended by her country’s national federation last May following a positive test for a banned diuretic, but has now been cleared of any wrongdoing.

“All of her past results have been reinstated and she is free to compete effectively immediately,” says Jacobs.

Campbell-Brown said in a statement: “The final court available to us as athletes have spoken and humbly I say they have confirmed my innocence.”

She added the past few months have brought “much pain and suffering”.

The sprinter’s failed test came at a Jamaica invitational meeting on 4th May and she was provisionally suspended by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association.

Veronica Campbell-Brown Free to Return to the Tracks at Last.
Veronica Campbell-Brown Free to Return to the Tracks at Last.

In October, a Jamaican disciplinary committee review then deemed a reprimand sufficient because the banned substance was not used for performance enhancement.

She however had to wait for the IAAF verdict before she can return to the tracks and it appears the athletic federation handed the case to Cas.

“Yes, I lost out on the opportunity to compete for most of 2013 and the chance to defend my World 200m title, however, I press on,” the seven-time Olympic medalist continued.

“Dr Martin Luther King Jr spoke of the redemptive quality of unearned suffering and I must say I am redeemed.”

Campbell-Brown could return to competition at next month’s World Indoor Championships in Poland with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July also an option.