© Copyright – 2023 – Athletics Illustrated
El-Hassan El-Abbassi received a four-year ban from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for doping.
The 39-year-old tested positive for a homologous blood transfusion after running in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympic Games on August 8 in 2021.
El-Abbassi claimed to the Court of Arbitration of Sport that the failed test was due to a medical procedure.
Apparently, he received a blood transfusion in Oct. 2020 and also had surgery performed in 2021.
El-Abbassi finished 25th in the Olympic marathon, held in Sapporo due to fears over the heat. However, on race day the temperature was the same as it was in Tokyo at 34 degrees Celsius.
His result has now been disqualified.
His best marathon is 2:04:43, which he achieved during the 2018 Valencia Marathon. The performance is a national and area record (Asia).
El-Abbassi is the 2015 Asian 10,000m champion from Wuhan, China where he ran 28:50.17. He is also the 2014 Asian Games Champion when he ran 28:11.20 in Incheon, Korea. He also won the Moroccan national championships in 2012 with his 28:12.40 performance and became eligible to run for Bahrain in 2014.