Moroccan Half Marathon Record Holder Banned 4 Years for EPO Doping

According to the explanations of the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), the independent anti-doping body of the IAAF, the athlete was diagnosed twice on a blood sample in Karlova, Croatia on June 7 and a week later in Langueux, France, during two road races.

Mustapha El Aziz​ finished first in the first one and second in the second.

According to the AIU, the two analyses were conclusive: there was the presence of EPO in the athlete’s blood. Questioned, Mustapha El Aziz, 33, had flatly denied taking EPO after the first check. However, he did not respond to the AIU’s correspondence.

Since 2016, the Moroccan athlete has held the world record in the half marathon in 59:29 in Valencia. Three years earlier, he had beaten his personal best in the marathon of 2h07:55 in Seoul, and was the silver medalist in the African Championships in 2014 on 10,000 m.

Already, last August, Mustapha El Aziz had been provisionally suspended.