June 2026, he broke his own national record. A month later, he finished 0.01 seconds off the podium at his first senior Diamond League appearance. So, it’s no wonder the reigning German national champion, Owen Ansah, is being talked about as a genuine gold medal contender. But his prospects have taken a serious hit ahead of the 2026 European Championships.

Numerous reports now indicate that the German National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has the 25-year-old under investigation. According to Der Spiegel, the sprinter is facing a potential ban after failing to comply with a test. The NADA confirmed the same and revealed that the German is facing a ban under a rule which states that athletes cannot evade, refuse, or fail to submit to a doping test.

Reports indicate that the 25-year-old refused the test because he was on his way to the airport for the Monaco DL. Furthermore, Ansah also reportedly claimed that the Drug Control Officer (DOC) showed up outside of the one-hour testing period. In accordance with World Athletics and WADA rules, athletes must set aside 1 hour per day for drug testing.

However, the 25-year-old reportedly claimed he didn’t “understand the procedure initiated.” He remains eligible to compete as the NADA hasn’t provisionally suspended him, and he can compete at the upcoming German championships.

“The anti-doping regulations do not stipulate a mandatory provisional suspension for the alleged violation of anti-doping rules,” reads the statement from the NADA (via Der Spiegel).

The 2026 German national Championships will take place in Bochum from July 24 to 26, with Owen Ansah expected to defend his title. The 25-year-old sailed to the 2025 title after clocking 10.23 to finish first over Deniz Almas (10.25) and Lucas Ansah-Peprah (10.27). However, aside from being the reigning 100m national champion, what makes Ansah the favourite is his record.

The 25-year-old is the fastest German ever to run 100m and the only German ever to clock sub-10 seconds. He first did it in 2024, clocking 9.99 just before the 2024 Paris Olympics. That broke Julian Reus’ 10.01 national record, set in 2016.

While Ansah failed to clock a sub-10 time in 2025, 2026 ended that drought. The German has already registered two sub-10s, one a new national record with 9.98 and the other a wind-assisted 9.93.

That breakthrough had firmly established Ansah as Germany’s fastest man before the investigation surfaced. When he reflected on the record earlier this summer, his focus was entirely on how far he believed he could still go.

Owen Ansah opens up on his 9.98 national record

In 2024, Owen Ansah became the fastest German man and the first to break the 10-second barrier. It was a dam that stood in front of German track and field for decades, with many struggling to break it. The closest anyone had ever come was Julian Reus, who clocked 10.01 in 2016. Going back even further, Armin Hary registered a flat 10 in 1960, albeit in the stopwatch era.

That won him the Olympic gold in the same year and was a world record at the time. Gerd Metz registered at the same time, ten years later, as did Manfred Kokot, a year after Metz. However, nobody had ever broken the sub-10 barrier, and then Owen Ansah did. He looked almost stunned and refused to believe it until it flashed on the screen, and even then, he looked shocked.

2025 was a lean year, and he struggled to put his best foot forward, leading many to label him a one-hit wonder. Since the turn of the year, though, 2026 has been a great time for the German as he has shrugged off that tag. Not only has he broken sub-10 twice; one of those times was a wind-legal 9.98, a new national record. In the aftermath, Ansah was pleased.

“I wanted to show that I’m not a one-hit wonder,” Ansah said after his race in June. “I wanted to show it in Dresden, but I was a bit too fast out of the starting blocks, so I took my time today.”

“We train for times like these and races like these. The fact that I’ve managed it in only my second race of the season is quite a surprise. I’m really happy that the time is already there,” he added (via Leichtathletik.de).

Weeks after proving he wasn’t a one-hit wonder, Owen Ansah is now fighting a very different battle. His sprint toward European glory now depends on what happens away from the track.