File Photo: Athletics – IAAF World Indoor Championships 2018 – Arena Birmingham, Birmingham, Britain – March 2, 2018 Jarrion Lawson of the U.S. in action during the Men’s Long Jump Final REUTERS/Hannah McKay
(Reuters) – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday annulled the four-year ban imposed on Jarrion Lawson by the sport’s governing body World Athletics, following an appeal by the American long jumper and sprinter.
Lawson, who was suspended last year after testing positive for the banned substance epitrenbolone, had denied wrongdoing, saying the substance could have entered his body through the consumption of tainted beef in June 2018.
“The CAS Panel found it more likely than not that the origin of the prohibited substance was contaminated beef consumed in a restaurant the day before the test,” CAS said in a statement.
“Following a careful review and examination of the evidence and expert testimony… the panel was unanimously of the view that Lawson had established that he bore no fault or negligence for his positive finding. As a consequence of such finding, the period of ineligibility was eliminated.”
Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Alex Richardson