German sprint star Owen Ansah faces four-year ban but will race at European Championships

The incident

On July 9, a NADA doping controller arrived at Owen Ansah's home around 14:30 to collect a sample. Ansah, a 25-year-old from Hamburger SV who trains in Mannheim, had been called up as a late replacement for the Diamond League meeting in Monaco and was preparing to leave for the airport. According to Ansah's account in a DLV statement, the controller rang outside his designated testing window. Ansah said he was under time pressure, had just used the toilet, and could not produce a sample on short notice. He proposed that the controller accompany him to the airport to collect the sample there, but this did not happen. Ansah flew to Monaco and ran the 100m on July 10 in 10.01 seconds, finishing fourth.

NADA's response

On Friday, August 7, the National Anti Doping Agency proposed a four-year ban, finding that Ansah had violated Article 2.3 of the National Anti-Doping Code (refusal or failure to submit to sample collection) and the DLV's anti-doping code. If Ansah accepts the proposal, the ban would be reduced to three years. NADA also seeks to annul all of Ansah's competition results from July 9 onward, which would include his German championship titles over 100m and 200m from Wattenscheid. Ansah has not been provisionally suspended, and the ban would begin only from the day of a final decision or acceptance.

Ansah's defense

Ansah's lawyer, Rainer Tarek Cherkeh, issued a statement rejecting the characterization of the events.

Our client Owen Ansah at no point refused to carry out a doping control. He at no point refused to provide a sample. Owen Ansah at no point said or gave the impression that he did not want to carry out a doping control.

Ansah will not accept NADA's proposal, triggering a 20-day window after which the case moves to a disciplinary hearing at the German Sports Court (DIS), with the possibility of an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. According to Bild, Ansah had been informed in writing about the possible consequences of refusing a test, though he reportedly did not recognize the gravity of the situation.

EM participation

Despite the pending case, the DLV confirmed Ansah will compete in individual events at the European Championships in Birmingham (August 10-16), with the 100m scheduled for Tuesday. He will not run in relay events, a decision explained by DLV performance director Jörg Bügner.

After consultation with the coaching team and the athletes, and to create clarity for everyone involved here in Birmingham, we have decided that Owen Ansah will start as planned over 100 meters and 200 meters at the EM, but will not participate in the relay competitions.

The reasoning is that a retrospective ban could lead to disqualification and stripping of relay medals. Ansah holds season bests of 9.98 seconds over 100m and 20.13 seconds over 200m, ranking third in European seasonal bests in both events. He set the German 100m record at 9.98 seconds in June.

Expert assessment

Doping expert Fritz Sörgel told the German Press Agency that Ansah's chances of escaping without a sanction are slim.

I must honestly say that I don't rate the chances very high that he gets away with it well. That he leaves the proceedings without a penalty, I consider that excluded.

Sörgel called a four-year ban "relatively harsh," noting that cyclist Michel Heßmann received 21 months for testing positive for a diuretic in summer 2023. He acknowledged there were some arguments to challenge the test, calling the sequence of events "unfortunate" for the sprinter, but added that there were no particularly strong arguments. Ansah, for his part, said at a media round that he can "block things out well" and expressed enthusiasm about racing for Germany.