American sprints talent Erriyon Knighton was banned for 4 years for doping

American track and field athlete Erriyon Knighton has been banned from competing for four years for testing positive for a banned substance, ruling the 21-year-old sprinter out of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said its judges had upheld independent appeals from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and athletics investigators after Knighton was cleared by a US tribunal of testing positive for an anabolic steroid. The tribunal ruled to exonerate the athlete, saying he had been exposed to the drug through the consumption of meat. The steroid, for which Erriyon Knighton tested positive, can be used in livestock farming.

However, in their appeals, WADA and the Athletics Integrity Unit argued that the evidence presented to exonerate Erriyon Knighton was statistically impossible and requested a maximum four-year ban, which was accepted by CAS and reasoned in the decision.

Considered one of the future stars of the track and field, the 21-year-old Erriyon Knighton is the sixth fastest man in the history of track and field with a best time of 19.49 sec. Only Noah Lyles and Michael Johnson are ahead of him among American sprinters.

That result, achieved in 2022, is still a world junior record and is almost half a second better than the fastest time of the legend Usain Bolt at the same age. Usain Bolt later set the world record of 19.19 sec, which has stood for 16 years.

The tribunal’s first ruling last year allowed Erriyon Knighton to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he placed fourth in the 200m in his second consecutive appearance at the major summer sports forum. He also has a silver medal in the same distance in 2023 in Budapest, as well as a bronze medal in 2022 in Eugene, Oregon.