Being just 18 and with a promising career ahead, a young track and field star was ready to make her mark on the track again. Born in Miramar and ranked the No. 1 recruit for the Class of 2026 at LSU, she had recently clocked a personal best of 51.01 seconds. But her breakthrough season has been clouded by uncertainty after a doping case that has now been taken up by the CAS.

The athlete at the center of the case is Skyler Franklin. She made headlines in July 2024 at the JAAA/Puma National Junior and Senior Championships in Jamaica, competing in both the girls’ 400m and 200m. And there, Franklin won the girls’ under‑20 400m in 51.99 seconds and took silver in the 200m with 23.16 seconds.

The test detected metabolites of GW1516 (Cardarine), a banned substance under international anti-doping rules. The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) prosecuted the case, and Jamaica’s Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel reviewed the results.

In December 2025, the track and field star received a public reprimand and had her results canceled. But that was only the beginning.

Now, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) believes the reprimand was too light and has filed an appeal with CAS, asking for a stricter sanction. As of now, CAS has not released a decision.

If CAS agrees with the panel, Franklin would keep the public reprimand. But if CAS sides with WADA, she could face a competition ban ranging from several months to a few years, and more of her results from 2024 or beyond could be stripped.

A ban could also impact her enrollment at LSU, future championships and sponsorship opportunities, thus making her next few months crucial for her career.

Before the controversy Franklin, ran 51.01 seconds in the women’s 400m at the Holloway Pro Classic in Gainesville, Florida, in July 2024, finishing third and setting a personal best. That time ranks her second all-time in Jamaican U20 history, just behind Sandie Richards, who ran 50.92 seconds in 1987. Franklin also holds dual citizenship in the USA and Jamaica.

Her record has positioned her among the top young talents in the 400m in the world, but the forthcoming CAS ruling will be a turning point in her life. However, the scandal also throws a shadow over the historical issues of the anti-doping system in Jamaica.

When Jamaica’s track and field stars faced doping controversies

Olympic track and field athlete Veronica Campbell-Brown tested positive in 2013 in Kingston at a meet in 2013 for a banned diuretic. The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) and the national panel handled the issue casually at first and only reprimanded her, but only later was the international federation involved.

Once the case was eventually taken to the Court of Arbitration, it was decided by the panel that there were issues in the way the test was handled and collected. According to the judges, those errors were so significant that they questioned the integrity of the entire anti-doping process.

Top Stories

How Much Did Aryna Sabalenka’s Australian Open Jewelry Cost? Designer and Materials Explained

Michael Strahan Confirms Stance on Retirement from FOX While Announcing Future Plans

Is Elena Rybakina Dating? All You Need To Know About WTA Star’s Boyfriend

NTSB Exposes Alarming Chain of Errors in Greg Biffle’s Fatal Plane Crash

Aryna Sabalenka to “Crying” and Tells Team to “F*** You” After Australian Open Loss

Breaking: Elena Rybakina Takes Down Aryna Sabalenka in Australian Open Final

They added, “That systematic and knowing failure, for which no reasonable explanation has been advanced, is deplorable and gives rise to the most serious concerns about the overall integrity of the JAAA’s anti-doping processes, as exemplified in this case by the flaws in JADCO’s (Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission) sample collection and its documentation.”

Procedural errors, such as failure to use appropriate sample kits and violation of fundamental rules, were later acknowledged by JADCO publicly and stated that they would reorganize their operations to seal such gaps.

In the same year, several Jamaican track and field athletes (such as Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson) tested positive for banned substances, which indicated how weak testing and enforcement were then.

Those cases prompted a general reconsideration of testing procedures and even the resignation of JADCO’s entire board so the system could be restructured