MONACO (AP) — Former Tokyo marathon finalist Tsehay Gemechu has been suspended for four years over suspicion of blood doping, the official said. The Athletics Integrity Unit said THURSDAY.

The 25-year-old Ethiopian was also disqualified from all her results and prize money earned since March 2020, including her second place in the elite race in Tokyo in March 2023. Her race took just under 2 hours and 17 minutes had ranked it #1. 24 in the all-time female list.

Gemechu also placed fourth in the 5,000 meters at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, and competed in the 10,000m at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She was previously disqualified from that Olympic race for lane violation . She did not finish the marathon at the 2023 worlds in Budapest, Hungary.

The AIU said Gemechu had suspicious blood values ​​in his athlete biological passport. It can show doping indicators over longer periods of time without the need for a positive test.

Gemechu gave 50 blood samples over a five-year period, with those taken in March 2020 and then April and May 2022 “indicating blood manipulation”, according to a report. verdict of an independent anti-doping tribunal.

It is banned until November 2027.

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