U.S. sprinter Erriyon Knighton receives 4-year doping ban

Field Level Media|published: 09/12/2025, 2:47pm EDT

Aug 5, 2024; Saint-Denis, FRANCE; Erriyon Knighton (USA) in the men's 200m round 1 heats during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade de France. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

American sprinter Erriyon Knighton received a four-year doping ban on Friday that will keep him out of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Knighton, 21, the 200-meter silver medalist at the 2023 World Championships, tested positive for an anabolic steroid in May 2024.

He claimed to have ingested tainted meat, however the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland upheld the findings by the World Anti-Doping Agency and track and field investigators.

"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 (positive test)," the court said in a release.

Knighton finished fourth in the 200 at both the Paris and Tokyo Olympic Games.

His time of 19.49 seconds in 2022 is the sixth-fastest 200 in history. Among American sprinters, only Michael Johnson and Noah Lyles have clocked faster times.

--Field Level Media