Athletics
PISTORIUS PRISON SENTENCE INCREASED
This may not be the best time for the jailed Oscar Pistorius as his prison sentence was increased to 13 years and five months by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal on Friday.
According to Associated Press, the decision has more than doubled the Olympic runner’s jail term for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
In an announcement that took a matter of minutes, Supreme Court Justice Willie Seriti said the Supreme Court upheld an appeal by prosecutors against Pistorius’ original six-year sentence for shooting Steenkamp multiple times in his home in 2013.
Prosecutors had called that six-year sentence “shockingly” lenient.
Pistorius should have been sentenced to the prescribed minimum of 15 years for murder in South Africa, Seriti said, as he delivered the verdict that was reached by a panel of five judges at the Supreme Court in the central city of Bloemfontein.
The new sentence of 13 years and five months took into account time Pistorius had already served in prison and at home under house arrest, Seriti said.
Pistorius, who turned 31 on Wednesday, has served over a year of his initial six-year sentence.
Pistorius killed Steenkamp in the pre-dawn hours of Valentine’s Day 2013 after shooting four times through a closed toilet cubicle door in his home.
Claiming he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder, he was initially convicted of manslaughter. That conviction was overturned and replaced with a murder conviction by the Supreme Court in 2015.
Friday’s decision likely brings an end to a near five-year legal saga surrounding the double-amputee athlete, a multiple Paralympics champion and record-breaker who was once one of the most celebrated sportsmen in the world.
Pistorius’ lawyers have just one avenue open to them if they want to challenge the new sentence handed down by the Supreme Court, and that is to appeal to the Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa.
Pistorius failed with an appeal to the Constitutional Court last year to challenge his murder conviction.
Athletics
Behold, CAS statement on Tobi Amusan
![](https://www.sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/amusan-2.jpg)
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan is the winner as the Court of Arbitration for Sports, CAS has rejected the appeals filed by World Athletics and WADA.
The decision confirms the decision taken by the World Athletics disciplinary tribunal finding that Tobi Amusan did not commit any anti-doping rule violation.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CAS_Media_Release_9992_10067__final_-1.jpg?resize=640%2C1024&ssl=1)
Here is the full statement of CAS.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeals filed by
World Athletics (WA) and by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the decision issued on 17 August 2023 (the Challenged Decision) by the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal (WADT) in relation to the hurdler Oluwatobiloba (Tobi) Amusan (Nigeria).
Accordingly, the Challenged Decision in which the WADT considered that Tobi Amusan did not violate Rule 2.4 of the WA Anti-Doping Rules (WA ADR) and that no period of ineligibility should be imposed on the Athlete is confirmed.
The Athlete was initially charged with committing an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under Rule 2.4 WA ADR following three alleged Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period.
In their respective appeal to CAS, WA and WADA had sought the imposition of a two-year period of ineligibility. The CAS Panel held a hearing on 19 January 2024. Having deliberated, the CAS Panel has issued its decision today dismissing both appeals. The CAS Panel unanimously acknowledged that the Athlete committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a missed test, alleged by WA and WADA, which would have been the third Whereabouts Failure committed within a 12-month
period. Accordingly, the CAS Panel concluded that the Athlete did not commit an ADRV and that the Challenged Decision should be confirmed.
The reasoned award will be published by CAS unless the parties request confidentiality.
Athletics
Tobi Amusan floors WADA and World Athletics!
![Tobi Amusan’s Trial Begins Today -](https://www.sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Tobi-Amusans-Trial-Begins-Today.jpg)
Nigeria’s Paris 2024 medal hopeful, Tobi Amusan has been cleared as the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the World Athletics.
She is therefore cleared to feature at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Amusan is the 100m hurdles world record holder.
The athlete was charged in July last year with missing three anti-doping tests in 12 months but was cleared of the offence by the Disciplinary Tribunal of the sport’s governing body, World Athletics.
The Integrity Unit of the World Athletics appealed the clearance which has now been dismissed by CAS, the final arbiter in the case.
CAS in its statement remarked that its panel “unanimously acknowledged that the athlete committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a missed test, alleged by WA and WADA, which would have been the third Whereabouts Failure committed within 12 months.”
Amusan set the world record of 12.12 seconds in the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July 2022 and went on to win the title.
She finished sixth in the world championships in Budapest last year.
World Athletics’ anti-doping rules say any athlete failing to declare their whereabouts for a doping test on three occasions over 12 months is ineligible to compete for two years.
Athletics
Tobi Amusan thanks God for success at CAS in doping case
![](https://www.sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/amusan-2.jpg)
An elated Nigeria’s 100m hurdles world record holder, Tobi Amusan has thanked God for her success in an appeal filled against her by the Athletics Integrity Unit of the World Athletics.
Had the appeal been upheld, ,Amusan would have has to miss the Paris 2024 Olymoics.
“It’s ALL GOD” Amusan said in an Instagram post alongside the court’s announcement.
Amusan, who broke the world record during her semi-final race at the 2022 world championships, is a hot favourite in her signature event at the Paris Olympics, which begin on July 26.
World Athletics and WADA did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
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