Turkey’s disgraced Olympic 1500 metres gold medallist Aslı Çakır Alptekin could have an eight-year doping ban lifted early after she acted as a whistleblower if a landmark Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing in Lausanne tomorrow rules in her favour.
She has already had her ban provisionally lifted ahead of the hearing in order to mount a bid to achieve a qualifying time for next month’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Çakır was stripped of the Olympic title she won four years ago because of abnormalities with blood levels found in her athlete biological passport (ABP) readings in 2013.
She had reached an agreement with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) last year and agreed to an eight-year suspension due to finish in 2021.
As part of the deal, the 30-year-old forfeited all her results recorded since July 29 in 2010 and also had to return her gold medal from 2012 European Championship in Helsinki
Çakırv who also served a two-year doping ban in 2004, has subsequently cooperated with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission investigation.
She revealed that, in 2012, she had been told by the sons of former IAAF President Lamine Diack she could keep her Olympic gold medal if she paid them bribe of €650,000 (£490,000/$700,000).
