Shock as SA’s fastest woman faces doping allegations

National record holder Carina Horn has been sidelined on the eve of the IAAF World Championships, according to global body the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), with the country’s fastest woman facing allegations of doping.

“The AIU confirms a provisional suspension against South African sprinter Carina Horn for the presence of a prohibited substance,” the AIU revealed on social media.

Horn made history last year when she became the first SA woman to run under 11 seconds in the 100m sprint, clocking 10.98 in Doha, and last month she gave her national record a shake when she set a season’s best of 11.01 in Madrid.

One of South Africa’s most consistent elite athletes in recent years, she had dipped under 11.20 for the last six seasons in succession.

A former African Championships silver medallist, the 30-year-old speedster from Pretoria competed at the 2015 and 2017 editions of the World Championships, as well as the 2016 Rio Olympics, reaching the semifinals in the 100m dash at all three events.

Though she had been expected to form part of the SA team at the World Championships starting in Doha on September 27, she had been suspended indefinitely.

She hasn’t had her B-sample tested yet though.

Horn would have a chance to defend herself against all charges via an official anti-doping process, which would include a hearing conducted by an independent panel, after allegedly returning an adverse analytical finding for the growth hormone Ibutamoren.

The AIU was founded by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 2017 in an effort to fight the scourge of doping in international track and field.

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