Erriyon Knighton, the 2022 World Championships 200m bronze medalist and 2023 World Championships 200m silver medalist, has been banned for four years after CAS upheld two appeals by the Athletics Integrity Unit and by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Knighton’s ban starts today and he will receive credit for the provisional suspension he served between April 12 and June 19, 2024.

Announcement via CAS here:

"Lausanne, 12 September 2025 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has partially upheld two appeals by World Athletics (WA) and by the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) against USA track and field athlete Erriyon Knighton following an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV). Erriyon Knighton is sanctioned with a 4-year period of ineligibility, starting from today with credit for the provisional suspension that was served between 12 April and 19 June 2024.

On 28 May 2024, Mr Knighton was charged with an ADRV by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) from an out-of-competition doping control which revealed the presence of epitrenbolone. Epitrenbolone is a metabolite of trenbolone which is a Prohibited Substance in the WADA Prohibited List (S.1.1 / Anabolic Androgenic Steroid).

The Athlete contested the sanction sought by USADA and brought it to an Arbitration Tribunal. On 19 June 2024, the Arbitration Tribunal issued a decision that Erriyon Knighton should have no period of ineligibility as he sustained his burden of proof and bore no fault or negligence in connection with the use and presence of a prohibited substance.

On 8 August 2024, WA and WADA appealed to CAS against USADA and Erriyon Knighton to set aside the decision by the Arbitration Tribunal and to request that a 4-year ban be imposed on the Athlete. Both appeals were considered jointly. WA and WADA considered that the evidence submitted by the Athlete and his explanations of a meat contamination scenario fell short of the required proof of source and were statistically impossible.

A hearing took place on 23 and 24 June 2025 at CAS headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland where Mr Knighton argued that the ADRV was caused by the ingestion of an oxtail dish contaminated with trenbolone. After considering the scientific evidence, the CAS Panel determined 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 Athlete’s Adverse Analytical Finding.

The appeal is upheld, save for the request by WA and WADA that the results obtained by the Athlete from 26 March 2024 until the notification of the present award be disqualified, which is only partially granted; Mr Knighton is disqualified retroactively from 26 March 2024 to 12 April 2024."

What this means:

Knighton will potentially miss the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles since he is ineligible to compete until July 2028, as he’d have to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Track at the Los Angeles Olympics will be held from July 15 to July 24, 2028. He was fourth in the 200m final at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the Paris Olympics in 2024. He will be 25 years old when the ban expires.

Knighton could still appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, but neither he nor his agent has announced whether he will do so.