It has been quite a roller coaster ride for Erriyon Knighton in recent months! The American had to face suspension after USADA accused him of doping. Apparently, they found a metabolite of the anabolic steroid trenbolone. This put his participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics in jeopardy, as he would be serving a suspension during the trials. This would’ve been a tremendous blow to the US track and field team as Knighton is one of the best athletes in the nation in the 200m.

But in June, USADA made a turnaround and said that the metabolite was found due to the consumption of contaminated meat rather than any banned substances. Consequently, he was granted the chance to take part in the Paris Olympics, where he failed to replicate his performance in Tokyo by finishing in fourth place, narrowly missing out on a podium position. However, little did he know that the problems were just starting for him. Not long ago, The Athletic Integrity Unit filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for sport against him.

This was a huge blow and could have meant another suspension for Knighton. While the USADA believes that he’s clear as they tested the meat too to confirm their decision of contamination, WADA (World Anti doping Agency) was far from convinced. They have said that they will need to study the case to sustain the appeal and then come to a conclusion. This fiasco threatens Knighton’s chances to participate in future competitions like the Diamond League. To defend the athlete and their process of testing, USADA’s CEO Travis Tygart came out with a one-page statement where he detailed the entire testing process. He has also subtly slammed WADA for refusing to ‘act swiftly’.

USADA CEO Travis Tygart’s statement on the Erriyon Knighton Fiasco

Travis Tygart started the statement by saying that it is WADA’s right to review the Erriyon Knighton case. Then he explained the USADA’s process against him. After suspending him because of finding the banned substance in his body, they expedited the case to arbitration. They heard the evidence and determined Knighton was not at fault because he was not aware of the substance being present in the meat. They also took into account his perfect testing history previously, which worked in his favor.

Tygart then went on to criticize WADA for their treatment of the Chinese Athletes, where they had 23 cases of TMZ being found. According to him, TMZ was a controlled drug that could not be found in food and was thus taken to enhance performance. He accused WADA of allowing China to sweep these cases away and not be transparent about it.

Lastly, he said that while he got AIU’s point of view, WADA’s bias towards China was the problem here. He believed that they had changed rules for Chinese players to enter Paris, the example of which is found in the 23 cases. Now it seems like this whole situation might turn out quite dirty between USADA and WADA. One must hope that Erriyon Knighton’s career doesn’t get affected because of this.

What do you think of the whole fiasco? Let us know in the comments below.

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