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The Athletics Integrity Unit had provisionally suspended Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman for Whereabouts Failures and Ethiopian Bone Cheluke for testing positive for performance-enhancing substances. The two athletes are now fully suspended.
Bone Cheluke
It was announced on December 18 that Ethiopian distance runner Bone Cheluke was provisionally suspended for testing positive for a banned steroid.
The initial test occurred in 2023, but with the Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry process, the AIU was able to retest her samples. The now 28-year-old at first denied the charges; however, she later admitted fault and has received a four-year suspension, less a year for admitting she was taking PEDs.
The period of Ineligibility of three years, started on December 5, 2025 (the date of provisional suspension) and expires on December 4, 2028, with 12 months suspended (the athlete shall therefore be eligible to return to athletics on December 5, 2027).
Disqualification of the Athlete’s results from October 15, 2023, until December 5, 2025, with all resulting consequences, including the forfeiture of any medals, titles, awards, points, prizes, prize money and appearance money.
What is IRMS
In drug testing, IRMS stands for Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry. This is a newer analytical process and a critical tool used to determine the origin of certain substances in an athlete’s body. IRMS specifically differentiates between naturally produced (endogenous) steroids and synthetically derived (exogenous) performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).
Steroids in the body have a differing “fingerprint” when generated naturally versus exogenously.
Alysha Newman
Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman is now suspended for her Whereabouts Failures reported back on February 4, 2026.
It is a moot point, as she was gradually winding down her international career throughout 2025 and had planned to end it. Additionally, she claims that she experienced a significant personal change that disrupted her ability to stay as organized as she could, making it difficult for her to keep up with the Whereabouts Program.
The AIU stated that she should have formally announced her retirement.
For what it is worth, she admitted fault and has received a one-year reduction in her suspension for doing so.
