Kenyan-born Bahrain runner Ruth Jebet, who won the women’s 3,000m steeplechase in the 2016 Olympics, has been banned for four years for an anti-doping violation.
Jebet’s ban is retroactive to Feb. 4, 2018, when she was provisionally suspended after testing positive for recombinant erythropoietin (r-EPO). Her Olympic gold medal is not affected.
The case before the Athletes Integrity Unit took more than two years to resolve, with accusations against an outside party and a change of lawyers delaying a decision.
Jebet was first represented by a law firm that said a physiotherapist gave her a package to take home and later advised to get an injection for hamstring pain.