Ruti Aga banned six years for a steroid positive and a forged prescription

The Athletics Integrity Unit has banned Ethiopian marathoner Ruti Aga for six years, it announced on Thursday, October 22.

Aga tested positive for methylprednisolone, a glucocorticoid banned in competition, after winning the Meishan Renshou Half Marathon in China on March 15. Two years of the ban are for that. The other four are for tampering.

She told AIU investigators the drug had been prescribed for a knee injury and produced a prescription to prove it. The AIU found the clinic named on the paper said the prescriber had never worked there. The prescription had been signed by a family member with no medical registration. Aga did not respond to the charges, so the ban was imposed without a hearing.

Aga won the Tokyo Marathon in 2019 and the last two editions of the Xiamen Marathon, and has four top three finishes at World Marathon Majors. She had been provisionally suspended since September.

The steroid would have cost her two years. The lie cost her four more.

Sources: ESPN; Athletics Illustrated.