APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Two Ethiopian athletes have been banned from all sporting competitions for violating anti-doping rules, the World Integrity Unit (AUI) has confirmed.
The two Ethiopian long-distance runners namely Shume Tafa and Mengistu Bekele – are on the list of athletes banned for 18 months and 4 years, respectively, according to the AUI.
The 23-year-old Bekele tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance, named erythropoietin (EPO), in a competition test in Ethiopia on December 11, last year.
Tafa was found using a prohibited substance, known as 5-methylhexan-2-amine, on March 26, 2023. The athlete tested positive for the drug following a test at the SCO Kunming International Marathon in China.
The AIU – an independent body formed by World Athletics to combat doping in sport – has published a new list of sanctions for doping and non-doping violations On Thursday.
The bans in both cases will take retroactive effect from the infraction dates and their entire results since have also been disqualified, per AIU.
The AIU was created by the sport’s governing body World Athletics (WA) as an independent unit to manage all integrity issues concerning athletics.
MG/as/APA