To Gudaf Tsegay his positive came out cheapespecially if we take into account that this season there are no major outdoor competitions beyond the new Ultimate Championship in Budapest. The Ethiopian, one of the great stars of the world championship, has been sanctioned with a four-month suspension for doping after admitting the presence of a prohibited substance in an out-of-competition test.
To put the protagonist of this new scandal in context, it is important to highlight her achievements because we are talking about an Olympic medalist -bronze in the 5,000 meters in Tokyo 2020-a double world champion – in the 5,000 in Eugene 2022 and in the 10,000 in Budapest 2023 – and a world record holder, in her case in the 1,500 meters indoor.
In December of last year, Tsegay tested positive for a metabolite of letrozolewhich appears on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of prohibited substances within the category of aromatase inhibitors. To be understood, Letrozole, used in the treatment of breast cancer, is a potent inhibitor of the enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen.
When the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) notified him of his positive test in late January, Tsegay responded a day later, explaining that had been prescribed Letrozole to treat a diagnosed medical condition and also presented documents and medical evidence that supported it.
In February, Tsegay submitted a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) request to World Athletics, which subsequently confirmed that his treatment met WADA international standard requirements for TUEs.
However, the WADA rejected his request to be granted a retroactive therapeutic use exemption for exceptional reasons. So reached an agreement to resolve the case with the AMA and the AIU.
The AIU statement published today indicates that a four-month suspension is considered “appropriate” according to the rules regarding the absence of fault or negligence on the part of the athlete.
The short duration of the sanction was based on Tsegay’s degree of guilt, his prompt admission of the violation, the fact that the presence of Letrozole met WADA’s international standards for ETUs and the recognition that an ETU would have been granted if it had been requested in advance.
Your period of disqualification, which applies retroactively to June 1, will be extended until September 30.
