Six-year ban for top marathon runner who submitted fake prescription

One of the world’s leading marathon runners, Ruti Aga, has been banned for six years after anti-doping investigators found she submitted a fake prescription to explain a failed drug test.

The Ethiopian athlete won the Tokyo marathon in 2019 and has reached the podium at the Berlin and New York marathons. She tested positive for the banned substance methylprednisolone after winning a half-marathon in China in March, the Athletics Integrity Unit said on Thursday.

Aga said she had been given the substance by a doctor in Ethiopia to treat knee pain, but the AIU said it found the clinic named on the document did not exist and the supposed prescription had been signed by a family member who was not a registered doctor.

After that, Aga failed to respond to charges for the use of methylprednisolone and “tampering” with the anti-doping process, the AIU added, meaning the six-year ban was issued without a hearing. The 32-year-old runner’s ban includes two years for the use of the substance and four more for tampering.