Athletics: Judo Appeal Gives Ohuruogu Hope

Christine Ohuruogu, the runner who was to be the face of the 2012 Olympics, has been given fresh hope that she may be able to compete in the Games in London after all, following a decision by an independent panel to free up a judo player to be eligible for selection at Beijing in 2008.

Peter Cousins was suspended for three months in January for missing three drug tests - the first Briton to fall foul of the rule - but yesterday it was announced he had successfully appealed against the British Olympic Association's automatic ban on any athlete guilty of a doping offence being selected for future Olympics.

Ohuruogu, the Commonwealth 400 metres gold medallist, has lodged a similar appeal after receiving a one-year suspension for missing visits by drugs testers. It is due to be heard shortly. She had been predicted to be as big as Cathy Freeman was during the Sydney Olympics in 2000 as she was born and raised - by Nigerian parents, which for the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, served to emphasise the capital's diversity - less than a mile from the site of the proposed 2012 Olympic stadium in Stratford.

Also banned is Tim Don, the triathlon world champion, who was suspended for three months after falling foul of the same rule. He too is appealing.

Cousins' appeal was regarded as a test case and although the BOA appeals panel, chaired by Nicholas Stewart QC, rejected his claim that the doping offence was minor, they did agree there were significant mitigating circumstances. A BOA statement said: "The panel's clear and unanimous view was that the offence could not be regarded as minor. They endorsed the BOA view that 'no advance notice' out-of-competition testing is a fundamental part of ensuring an effective fight against doping in sport."

The appeals panel said at the time of the missed tests there were "technological teething problems and some understandable confusion" involving UK Sport's online system where athletes are required to register their whereabouts.

John Scott, head of drug-free sport at UK Sport, admitted yesterday there had been several issues at that time but claimed they had subsequently been sorted out. He said Ohuruogu and Don could not claim similar defences. "This is not a minor offence but it's a fair conclusion," Scott said. "When you roll out systems like this there will always be challenges. But the fundamental issue is that he was not complying with the system. We are now confident that the system is extremely robust. These messages take a long time to get through."

Simon Clegg, the chief executive of the BOA, has also warned that Ohuruogu and Don should not automatically expect to have their bans lifted just because Cousins was cleared. "It is worth noting that the panel has very clearly stated that the facts of this case do not provide an automatic read-across to cases in the future," he said. "Athletes must be fully aware of their obligations as part of either the national or international testing pool."

Nevertheless, it would be a major surprise if the two were not cleared on appeal as they have never tested positive for drugs and the BOA would fear a legal challenge that could create a precedent that, if successful, would undermine its policy of being one of only three national Olympic committees which ban athletes for doping offences. The others are Norway and Romania.