Jamaica's Kaliese Spencer, the 2014 Commonwealth Games 400 metres hurdles champion, has been cleared of an anti-doping rule violation by an independent disciplinary panel.
The decision means Spencer, who faced a four-year ban on charges that she refused or evaded a drug test on April 27, 2016 at her training base, can resume competing immediately.
The panel decided the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission(JADCO), who brought the charges, could not prove that 30-year-old Spencer had been properly notified under World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules that she was required for testing.
Confirmation of the ruling came from attorney Kent Gammon, who chaired the three-member anti-doping panel which conducted a two-day hearing in May at the Jamaica Conference Centre.
"The decision that we arrived at today was that we were not persuaded that the athlete Miss Spencer had committed a breach of Article 2.3, in particular of the anti-doping disciplinary commission rules," Gammon told Reuters on Tuesday.
"The deciding factor was the equivocation that the athlete was properly notified as to the anti-doping violation and the non-compliance of Rule 5.0 of the international standards for testing of WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency)," he added.
The decision means the 2009 world championship mile relay silver medallist can compete in Jamaica's National Senior Championship (June 22-25), which will be used to select the Caribbean island's team for the August 4-13 worlds in London.
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