Turkish middle-distance runner Asli Cakir-Alptekin has been stripped of the gold medals she won at the London Olympics and 2012 European Championships for doping, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has announced.
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Although Cakir was cleared of doping by the Turkish Athletics Federation, the worldwide Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) disagreed with the ruling and referred the case to CAS.
“All competitive results obtained by the athlete from 29 July 2010 onwards are disqualified and all related titles, awards, medals, points and appearance money are forfeited”, said CAS.
Asli Cakir Alptekin agreed to give up her London 2012 title and serve a potentially career-ending suspension, days before the start of the World Championships in Beijing.
In January 2013, the IAAF charged the athlete with an anti-doping rule violation on the basis of her Athlete Biological Passport.
The latest ban comes as Beijing prepares to host the World Championships from this Saturday.
Last week the IAAF said it was suspending 28 athletes as a result of suspicious findings in doping tests.
Alptekin’s victory at London 2012 came as a shock and followed her improving by a substantial 17 seconds over the course of the year. “Sports community and athletes should learn the lesson that any institution or federation will not be showing tolerance towards doping”, Cintimar said.
She has not raced competitively since provisionally being suspended by the IAAF in January 2013.
Russian Tatyana Tomashova, who initially missed out on a podium finish after coming fourth, could be retrospectively given bronze.
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Expert independent witnesses said her explanations were “unsubstantiated and/or scientifically unsound…”
