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The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had a busy day on Wednesday, November 22 releasing information about four different doping-related suspensions.
Egyptian Mohamed Bakry as announced via an AIU press release was suspended for 18 months, until April 27, 2024. Bakry was suspended for the presence of the prohibited substance dexamethasone. Dexamethasone is a synthetic glucocorticoid hormone that is commonly used to reduce swelling in the brain. Results have been disqualified from November 20, 2021, to May 19, 2023.
Janat Chemusto of Uganda was banished for four years, starting retroactively from July 13, 2023, for the presence of a prohibited substance 19-norandrosterone/ or “Use of a prohibited substance Nandrolone or Nandrolone precursor.” Her suspension goes back to May 13, 2023.
Chemusto ran personal bests in the 800m (2:00.97), 1000m (2:34.35), 1500m (4:01.79) and the mile (1609m in 4:20.09) all in 2023.
The @WorldAthletics Athlete Refugee Team will compete at the @EuroAthletics 10,000m Cup for the first time – and with a full squad. Best of luck on Saturday to Jamal Eisa Mohammed, Tachlowini Gabriyesos and Fouad Idbafdil.
— Bob Ramsak (@BobRamsak) June 4, 2021
Timetable and results:👇🏾https://t.co/fzKcx5A5qT pic.twitter.com/dwUNr3WGbz
Zerfe Wondemagegn of Ethiopia, already provisionally suspended by the AIU, has now also been provisionally suspended for the Presence/ or use of another prohibited substance testosterone. The 21-year-old ran an outlier personal best in 3000m steeplechase in 2023 clocking a 9:06.61 performance.
Fouad Idbafdil, an athlete on the refugee team, was suspended for the presence or use of the prohibited substance EPO. Idbafdil was from Agadir, Morocco. As one international athlete tweeted, “Doping for these times?”
Idbafdil owns a 5000m best of 14:26.65 and a half-marathon best of 1:06:35.
Although four athletes identified on one day is unusual, recently, the AIU has warned that in terms of weeding out the dopers, “things will get worse before they will get better.” Additionally, the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya announced that 50 athletes will be suspended for doping soon.
Sarah Shubutse, CEO of the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya allegedly said, “Over 50 athletes will be put on a list of shame at the end of this month for violating anti-doping rules.”
This is a historic number of athletes to be suspended who hail from a single country. While Russia has had a nationwide ban, it was due to systematic doping, not necessarily every athlete was tested and proven to have doped.
Speaking in Kapsabet, over the weekend Shibutse indicated that improved testing and involving a multi-agency approach in their fight against doping has yielded results.
“Still needs to be done,” she added.
