VIENNA, Oct 24: Austrian middle-distance runner Susanne Pumper has been handed a two-year ban for doping, the Austrian anti-doping agency (NADA) has confirmed.

Pumper, a bronze medallist at the 2005 European indoor championships over 3,000m, was suspended from competition in April after returning a second positive test for banned substances.

NADA chief Andreas Schwab said the 38-year-old middle distance runner’s ban would be set to begin on March 9, 2008, the date she first tested positive, for the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin).

Less than a month after her first positive test, Pumper tested positive again for EPO when she was controlled after beating the national semi-marathon record.

Pumper has since denied taking banned substances.

NADA have also suspended Austrian triathlete Lisa Huetthaler, 25, who also tested positive for EPO.

A former European champion at under-23 level, Huetthaler has also denied cheating.—AFP