The Ethiopian long-distance runner was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit in November
Tsehay Gemechu, who competed over 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics and ran a best of 2:16:56 in the marathon, has been banned for four years due to doping.
The Ethiopian was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit in November because of “abnormalities” in her biological passport.
After almost a year long investigation, the AIU concluded that there was “overwhelming evidence of some kind of blood manipulation”.
Not only has Gemechu been given a four-year ban but her results from March 22, 2020 to November 30, 2023 will also be disqualified.
That includes her second place finish at the 2023 Tokyo Marathon, where Gemechu became just the eighth woman in history to go sub-2:17 over 26.2 miles.
Tsehay Gemechu [C] Getty
The same would’ve gone for Gemechu’s results in the 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics and marathon at the 2023 World Championships but she DNF’d in both races.
The 25-year-old boasts personal bests of 14:29.60 for 5000m, 30:19.29 for 10,000m and 65:01 for the half-marathon.
Gemechu also finished fourth in the 5000m at the 2019 World Championships and was part of the Ethiopian team that won the senior title at that year’s World Cross Country Championships in Denmark.
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