Zerfe Wondemagegn received five-year doping ban

Тхе Ethiopian Olympics athlete Zerfe Wondemagegn has been banned for five years after testing positive for two banned substances.

The athlete, who reached the final of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and narrowly missed the podium at last year’s World Championships, admitted to an anti-doping rule violation after samples she gave showed traces of testosterone and erythropoietin (APO), the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said in a ruling.

Zerfe Wondemagegn finished eighth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and fourth at the 2023 Budapest World Championships. Two of the three tests were taken while she was in Hungary for the competition and she was therefore disqualified.

The AIU’s decision said it had received emailed testimony from a doctor who said she had been taking EPO as a drug to treat severe anemia and a kidney infection, but that it “remains valid” that she violated anti-doping rules. The organization added that it received a signed acknowledgment from the athlete last week.

Also, the AIU announced today that it had imposed a three-year ban on Kenyan runner Celestine Chepchirchir, who tested positive for testosterone.