Court upholds four-year ban for Erriyon Knighton, ruling him out of 2028 Olympics

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has upheld a four-year doping ban against U.S. sprinter Erriyon Knighton, concluding there was no proof his positive test resulted from contaminated food and effectively ruling the two-time Olympic finalist out of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Knighton, 21, tested positive in May 2024 for a metabolite of trenbolone, an anabolic steroid commonly used in livestock farming, according to records of the case. He initially argued that the positive test stemmed from ingesting tainted oxtail, and that defense was accepted in an earlier decision. World Athletics and the World Anti-Doping Agency then appealed to CAS, which said in a release that "there is no proof that would support the conclusion that oxtail imported into the USA would be likely to contain trenbolone residues at the level required to have caused the [positive test]."

CAS added that the two-month provisional suspension Knighton served last year will be counted as time served, leaving him eligible to return to competition in July 2029. The four-year ban therefore rules him out of competing at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Knighton rose quickly in global sprinting after clocking a 19.49-second 200 meters in 2022, the sixth-fastest time ever in the event and among the fastest by an American, behind only Noah Lyles and Michael Johnson. He became the youngest individual sprint medalist in World Championships history when he won bronze in 2022 at 18 and followed that with a silver medal in 2023. He also finished fourth in the 200 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The CAS panel reviewed scientific evidence presented by the parties and concluded that the tainted-food explanation did not meet the standard required to overturn the earlier finding. The panel's decision reverses the earlier acceptance of the tainted-oxtail defense and sides with the appeals brought by World Athletics and WADA.

Knighton had been provisionally suspended after the May 2024 test and briefly returned to competition under the earlier ruling before the appeal. The CAS ruling preserves the positive-test finding and imposes the full-length ban that is typical for an anti-doping rule violation involving an anabolic agent.

The decision will have immediate implications for Knighton and for U.S. sprinting depth ahead of the 2028 Games. Knighton has been among the most closely watched young athletes on the international circuit since his breakthrough times and championship medals, and his absence will reshape U.S. selections and preparations for next Olympic cycle.

Knighton or his representatives could seek further legal options only if provided by applicable rules; CAS is usually the final arbiter in international sport disputes. The ruling does not affect his published results from the 2024 Paris Games.

The international athletics community has in recent years seen several high-profile cases involving claims of contaminated meat and livestock-drug residues. Anti-doping authorities and sporting bodies have continued to emphasize the strict liability principle under which athletes are responsible for substances found in their bodies, while also investigating and, in some cases, accepting inadvertent contamination defenses when supported by robust evidence.

Knighton burst onto the world stage as a teenager and was viewed as a potential long-term figure in U.S. sprinting. With this CAS ruling and the resulting ban, his next opportunity to return to international competition would come after the 2028 Olympic cycle, with eligibility resuming in mid-2029 under the sanction announced by the tribunal.