THE Jamaican sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown has announced she has been cleared to race again by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The 31-year-old, who won 200 metres gold at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, has not competed since testing positive for a banned diuretic.
However, she said in a statement released by her management company, On Track Management: "The final court available to us as athletes have spoken and humbly I say they have confirmed my innocence.
"I harbour too much self-respect and a similar respect for the purity of competition to resort to illegal means to success.
"This same self-respect will enable me to leave behind the insensitive and ill-informed media remarks and look towards returning to the track to give of my best to God's glory."
Campbell-Brown added that the past few months have brought "much pain and suffering".
After a failed test at the Jamaica Invitational meeting on May 4, Campbell-Brown was provisionally suspended the following month by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association, which gave her a public warning in October.
The sprinter had to wait for the IAAF's verdict before she could resume her career, though, and it has emerged the world governing body handed her case to CAS. Campbell-Brown has arguably been the biggest star of women's sprinting over the past decade.
She has won seven Olympic medals in all, and been crowned world champion in both the 100m and 200m. She took the latter world title in Daegu in 2011 and was prevented from defending it in Moscow last summer by the drug allegations.
Campbell-Brown, who won silver in the 4x100m relay and bronze in the 100m at London 2012, said her focus was now on "moving forward" with her "career and philanthropic efforts". She could return to the global stage at next month's World Indoor Championhips in Poland and could also appear at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July.
The decision is a boost for Jamaican athletics, which was dogged by drug allegations last year. Asafa Powell, the former 100m world record-holder, and Sherone Simpson both tested positive for the banned stimulant oxilofrine. They are still waiting to find out what sanctions they will face.
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