400m world champion, Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain was given a provisional suspension for whereabouts failure

The 2019 400m world champion, Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain, has been given a provisional suspension from the Athletics Integrity Unit for a whereabouts failure.

The third-fastest 400m runner of all time became the first Asian woman to win the world championships in her event last fall.

According to World Athletics anti-doping rules, three missed tests or filing failures within a 12-month period constitute a whereabouts violation. Out-of-competition testing (test that don’t take place at a race) work on a “three strikes” model – a third missed test in a 12-month period is treated like a positive test, and a competition ban of two years is standard.

Last year, American sprinter Christian Coleman missed three out-of-competition drug tests in 12 months, which meant he was facing a two-year ban.

After several weeks of investigation and the discovery of a legal loophole, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency dropped its case against Coleman, who was then allowed to compete at the world championships.

posted Friday June 5th
by Madeleine Kelly