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Moroccan Marathon Champion Banned 4 Years for Doping Violations
Saturday 1 August 2020, by
Moroccan marathoner El Mahjoub Dazza has been excluded from all competitions for 4 years. Anomalies would have been noticed in his biological passport, according to the body in charge of the fight against doping.
The winner of the Prague and Fukuoka marathons in 2019, 29 years old, had been tested the day before his victory in Prague on May 9, 2019 (2h 5 min 58 sec). As soon as his results were announced, seven other tests were carried out until November 4, a month before his new victory in Japan in Fukuoka on December 1 (2h 7 min 10 sec).
According to the disciplinary tribunal of the International Federation (World Athletics), "the variations in the values of the athlete’s ABP (biological passport, ed.) fit into a doping scenario". According to the panel of experts who studied the biological passport, the probability that the described anomalies [...] are due to blood manipulation, more precisely the artificial increase in red blood cell mass in the spring of 2019, is very high.
This sanction, imposed on Dazza, has been in effect since January 10, 2020, the beginning of his provisional suspension announced by the AIU. The accused can however appeal within 30 days before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).