World 1,500m champion suspended for banned substance

Statement from IAAF about Abeba Aregawi confirming a prohibited substance in a drugs test pic.twitter.com/RtpKwP0S69

— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) February 29, 2016

Track and field is having a rough start to the week as it’s been confirmed that Swedish runner and 1,500m world champion Abeba Aregawi has been suspended for a banned substance in an out-of-competition drug test.

The international governing body for athletics (IAAF) has confirmed there were prohibited substances in her system.

“The IAAF and the Swedish Athletic Federation confirm having a laboratory report indicating the presence of a prohibited substances in a urine sample of the athlete Abeba Aregawi collected out-of-competition by the IAAF,” reads the statement.

The Ethiopian-born athlete is provisionally suspended until her B-sample is confirmed, according to Swedish media outlets Sport Bladet and Expressen.

The 25-year-old won the gold medal in the 1,500m at the world championships in 2013 defeating second-place finisher Jenny Simpson, the 2011 champion in the event. Aregawi began representing Sweden in 2012.

Simpson made her thoughts clear on Twitter posting the following:

No such thing as part-time clean, part-time cheat. #lifetimeclean or #lifetimeban

— Jenny Simpson (@trackjenny) February 29, 2016

Canadian Kate van Buskirk finished one spot out of the final running in the same semi-final heat as Aregawi.

Aregawi’s 1,500m from the 2013 IAAF World Championships can be seen below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J6pN2ejC9w