(Reuters) – Italian steeplechase runner Ahmed Abdelwahed has been banned for four years and stripped of his silver medal from the 2022 European Athletics Championships for an anti-doping rule violation, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Thursday.
Abdelwahed, who won silver at the European championships in Munich in August last year, had provided a urine sample that revealed the presence of Meldonium, a banned substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list.
Although he claimed he never used Meldonium intentionally, the 27-year-old was provisionally suspended in September last year. After his B sample also confirmed the presence of the substance, the AIU imposed a four-year ban on Abdelwahed.
“All the athlete’s results obtained at 2022 European Championships and since 19 August 2022 (will) be disqualified… with all resulting consequences including the forfeiture of any titles, awards, medals, points and prize and appearance money,” the AIU said in its decision.
The AIU added that Abdelwahed has the right to appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 30 days.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
