The Rio 2016 100m hurdles gold medallist is charged “for tampering within the results management process”

Olympic 100m hurdles champion Brianna McNeal has been provisionally suspended for violating World Athletics anti-doping rules.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has charged McNeal “for tampering within the results management process”.

The AIU has charged Brianna McNeal (USA) for tampering within the results management process, a violation of the @WorldAthletics Anti-Doping Rules.
The hurdler has been provisionally suspended.
?️ ⬇️https://t.co/opInfkVlnV#AIUNews pic.twitter.com/qrY2G8NwWA

— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) January 14, 2021

Competing under her maiden name of Rollins, the American hurdler won her Olympic gold in Rio in 2016 and also claimed the world 100m hurdles title in Moscow in 2013.

She received a one-year ban in 2017 after missing three drugs tests in a 12-month period in what was described by the American Arbitration Association, which ruled on the case, as “a difficult case because it involves the imposition of a serious penalty on a brilliant athlete who is not charged or suspected of using banned substances of any kind”.

At that time, McNeal posted a statement to her Instagram account, which read in part: “I’ve always competed clean, and I am always happy to be tested to prove it. This is one of the most difficult times in my career, especially after having such a great 2016 season – all I wanted to do was capitalise on that but God has other plans.”

No further details in this latest “tampering” case have yet been published by the AIU.

Lead photo by Mark Shearman