LAUSANNE: Anjelina Nadai Lohalith, who ran as a refugee athlete in the 1,500 metres at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics, has been suspended after testing positive for the banned drug Trimetazidine (TMZ), the Athletics Integrity Unit said on Tuesday.

Lohalith, who was born in South Sudan and last competed at the world cross country championships in Belgrade in late March, faces a four-year ban from competition.

She is the third refugee athlete in the last few months to fall foul of the doping authorities.

Moroccan-born steeplechaser Fouad Idbafdil, who ran at the 2019 world championships in Doha, was given a three-year ban in December after he admitted using the banned endurance-boosting hormone EPO.

Dominic Lokolong Atiol, another middle distance runner originally from South Sudan and now based in Kenya, was suspended after testing positive for TMZ in March.

TMZ, which increases blood flow to the heart and is used to treat angina, has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2014.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is supporting 73 refugee athletes through scholarships as they bid for spots at this year’s Paris Games.

The refugee team in Tokyo three years ago consisted of 29 athletes.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2024