Olympic champion Brianna Rollins-McNeal lost her appeal on Friday against a five-year ban for breaking anti-doping rules that will ultimately prevent the American from defending her 100-meter hurdles title at the Tokyo Olympics. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said its judges dismissed McNeal’s challenge to the ban imposed by track and field authorities for “tampering or attempted tampering with any part of doping control.”
McNeal’s first doping ban came in 2017, when she was forced to sit out the season as a result of missed doping tests. She stated in a New York Times report that the ban is related to missing a doping control while recovering from surgery to terminate a pregnancy in January of 2020. She told the AIU she altered the dates on her medical records after originally writing the wrong date for the surgery date.
On Friday, she would take to Instagram and write a lengthy statement about having to listen to ‘White European Men’ speak on how her experience doesn’t match with their perspective.
“Should my career pretty much be over because I had the date of my abortion wrong by 24 hours? The event did happen: it was 100% the reason why I missed the test. I was physically and emotionally drained that entire weekend,” she wrote, adding: “I have been tested no less than 70 times, including three days after this missed test (and at the Olympic Trials) and have never tested positive.”
While her appeal was pending, McNeal was allowed to compete in last month’s U.S. Olympic trials where she finished second in the 100-meter hurdles final.
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The ban of McNeal means Gabbi Cunningham, who finished fourth, probably will take the third spot.
