The 2016 Olympic Marathon champion Jemima Sumgong already had her reputation injured and now she may never run again.
The IAAF dished out an unprecedented eight-year doping ban on Sumgong, dealing a fresh blow for the 33-year-old who is already serving a four-year period of ineligibility imposed on her in 2017.
The athletics governing body announced it had doubled Sumgong’s ban on Friday after she was found guilty of submitting ‘false medical records to an anti-doping organisation’ after failing a doping test.
Sumgong had tested positive for recombinant erythropoietin (r-EPO) during an out-of-competition test conducted in 2017 in Kapsabet before she went on to provide fraudulent medical information during her first-instance disciplinary proceedings.
“The athlete has committed an Anti-Doping rule violation (ADRV) of tampering with any part of a Doping Control pursuant to article 2.5 ADR.
“That this ADRV constitutes the athlete’s second ADRV and therefore, a period of ineligiblity of eight years is imposed on the athlete.
“The decision may be appealed to the CAS,” the Athletics Integrity Unit, the body set up by IAAF as part of its efforts fight anti-doping and corruption, said in a statement published on Friday.