{"id":10075,"date":"2016-03-01T07:01:47","date_gmt":"2016-03-01T12:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/?p=10075"},"modified":"2016-03-01T07:01:47","modified_gmt":"2016-03-01T12:01:47","slug":"9-ethiopian-athletes-under-investigation-for-doping-after-failing-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/10075","title":{"rendered":"9 Ethiopian Athletes Under Investigation for Doping After Failing Tests"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Abeba+Aregawi+Olympics+Day+10+Athletics+D_SpwEujDp-l\"<\/a>Ethiopia\u2019s Anti-Doping Agency has announced that nine athletes are being investigated for doping after they tested positive for banned substances.<\/p>\n

Solomon Meaza, the general secretary of Ethiopia\u2019s anti-doping agency, said five of the nine runners under investigation are high-profile athletes.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be clear, some banned (substances) were found in five athletes,\u201d Meaza told AP. \u201cThey will be summoned and asked if they have taken any banned substances (or) chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the revelation, officials have remained tight-lipped about the details of the investigation. The exact date when the doping tests were conducted has not been disclosed. The identities of the athletes and the names of the banned substances discovered in the tests have also not been disclosed.<\/p>\n

Meaza explained that more testing is needed to prove that the athletes are indeed guilty of doping. \u201cThere is a real concern when the upcoming investigations arrive,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The Ethiopian athletes in question are reportedly also being investigated by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the World Anti-Doping Agency.<\/p>\n

This case is likely to shine the international spotlight on doping in Ethiopia, according to analysts. The attention of the IAAF could shift to the East African distance running powerhouse after investigations into Russian and Kenyan athletics last year revealed widespread doping and corruption.<\/p>\n

Many fear that investigations into Ethiopia\u2019s athletics sector will deal another doping blow to the sport just months before the Rio Olympics. Reports indicate that whistleblowers have tipped international drug testers to focus on several Ethiopian athletes.
\nEthiopia has reportedly been under the radar of international doping authorities for years now after evidence revealed loose anti-doping practices.<\/p>\n

Meaza\u2019s announcement coincided with the IAAF suspension of Sweden\u2019s Ethiopian-born athlete Abeba Aregawi after she failed a doping test.<\/p>\n

The former 1,500-meter world champion reportedly failed an out-of-competition test while training in Ethiopia. According to the IAAF, Abeba, who is suspended pending investigation, has requested for the testing of her backup \u201cB\u201d sample.<\/p>\n

The Swedish Athletics Associations (SFIF) has expressed regret that Abeba tested positive for doping.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is with dismay and with extreme disappointment that we report this issue,\u201d SFIF general secretary Stefan Olsson said. \u201cWe totally reject all forms of cheating, doping\u2026..we have a zero tolerance, and this is totally unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abeba, 25, has since been provisionally suspended by the SFIF.<\/p>\n

Photo: Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ethiopia\u2019s Anti-Doping Agency has announced that nine athletes are being investigated for doping after they tested positive for banned substances. Solomon Meaza, the general secretary of Ethiopia\u2019s anti-doping agency, said five of the nine runners under investigation are high-profile athletes.…<\/span> Read more ›<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[44,46,1],"tags":[4688,4967,4689,4687,4501],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10075"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10075"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10077,"href":"http:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10075\/revisions\/10077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}