Reigning Olympic 100m hurdles champion Brianna Rollins has been handed a one-year suspension for failing to properly file whereabouts information for out-of-competition testing, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said Thursday. 

Rollins, who led an American sweep of the podium at the Rio Olympics, had three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period constituting a rules violation.

USADA said in a statement that the 25-year-old athlete, who led a US podium sweep of the 100m hurdles at the Rio Games, received three "whereabouts failures" over the course of 12 months, which constitutes a doping rule violation. 

The sprinter was a member of the USADA Registered Testing Pool, which consists of a select group of athletes who are subject to certain whereabouts requirements in order to be located for out-of-competition testing.

Rollins did complete eight out-of-competition tests over the course of 2016 and did not test positive. She also passed all eight in-competition drug tests she took last year. But Rollins was unavailable for tests on April 27, September 13 and September 27, for reasons that appear in the written report by the panel from the American Arbitration Association that heard her appeal to be mix-ups.

A statement released by her representatives said at least one of the missed tests was the result of confusion over the computer program used to give whereabouts to drug testing officials. While the panel found that a violation had indeed occurred, in their written decision they noted that the case involved "the imposition of a serious penalty on a brilliant athlete who is not charged or suspected of using banned substances of any kind." 

"I accept full responsibility for the mistakes that have led to my suspension, and am disappointed that I will have to miss this coming outdoor season, as a result of my confusion over how the whereabouts program worked. Rollins said in a statement. 

(Source: Agencies)