Slap on wrist? Former 5,000m record holder gets ridiculous ban for anti-doping violation
Reading Time: 3min | Fri. 12.06.26. | 16:35
She is expected to return to action later in the year after serving the brief ban
Former world 5,000m and 10,000m champion Gudaf Tsegay will miss the remainder of the 2026 track season after being handed a four-month ban for an anti-doping rule violation involving the prohibited substance, Letrozole.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced that the Ethiopian distance running star had accepted a Case Resolution Agreement after testing positive for a metabolite of Letrozole during an out-of-competition test conducted on 5 December, 2025.
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Tsegay, 29, is one of Ethiopia’s most decorated athletes, having won world titles over 5,000m and 10,000m as well as setting world records in the 5,000m and indoor mile.
According to the AIU, Letrozole is listed as a Specified Prohibited Substance under category S4.1
Aromatase Inhibitors on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 2025 Prohibited List and is banned at all times.
The medication works by lowering estrogen levels in the body.
The athlete was notified of the potential anti-doping rule violation on 26 January, 2026, and responded the following day, explaining that she had been prescribed Letrozole to treat a diagnosed medical condition.
She also submitted supporting medical documents and evidence to back her claim.
On 17 February, Tsegay filed a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) application with the World Athletics Therapeutic Use Exemption Committee (WATUEC), which later confirmed that her treatment met the requirements for a TUE under Article 4.2 of WADA’s International Standard for Therapeutic Use Exemptions.
Under those rules, athletes may receive a TUE if they can demonstrate that the prohibited substance is necessary to treat a diagnosed medical condition, that no reasonable alternative treatment exists.
Further it's use should not provide any performance-enhancing benefit beyond restoring normal health.
However, despite meeting the medical requirements, an application seeking an exceptional retroactive TUE was rejected by WADA.
As a result, Tsegay entered into a Case Resolution Agreement with the AIU and WADA.
The four-month sanction was deemed appropriate under Rule 10.6.1(a) of the Anti-Doping Rules, which covers cases involving no significant fault or negligence.
“The length of the sanction was based on Tsegay’s degree of fault, her prompt admission of the anti-doping rule violation, and the fact she demonstrated that the presence of the metabolite of Letrozole in her sample met the criteria of Article 4.2, meaning she would have received a TUE had it been requested in advance,” the AIU said.
The Ethiopian was sanctioned under Rule 2.1, relating to the presence of a prohibited substance in an athlete’s sample, and Rule 2.2, relating to the use or attempted use of a prohibited substance.
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Tsegay’s period of ineligibility began on June 1, 2026, the date she accepted the Case Resolution Agreement, and will run until September 30, 2026.