French hurdler Samba-Mayela given whereabouts ban

French hurdler Cyrena Samba-Mayela has been given a temporary suspension for not disclosing her whereabouts to anti-doping officials.

Samba-Mayela won silver in the 100m hurdles at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

The 25-year-old's suspension was confirmed by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) on Friday.

The sanction was imposed on Samba-Mayela on September 18, and could result in a two-year ban.

She withdrew from August's European Championships because of injury.

A representative for Samba-Mayela told French news agency AFP that the athlete had never returned a positive result on an anti-doping test, and that the investigation is solely focused on the whereabouts breach.

"The procedure mentioned is ongoing before the AIU and concerns exclusively administrative whereabouts requirements, and not the use of any substance whatsoever," the representative added.

"She [Samba-Maylea] continues to respond within the allotted timeframes and to co-operate fully."

Elite athletes are required to inform anti-doping officials about their locations, for example if they are attending a training camp away from home or if they are travelling.

These locations are used in order to comply with the rules for random doping tests.

Three failures within a year, such as a missed test or inaccurate information given to the anti-doping officials, can result in punishment.