Tokyo champion Ruti Aga banned six years for forged prescription
Two years for the drug, four more for the document she handed the investigators.
The Athletics Integrity Unit has banned Ethiopia's Ruti Aga for six years, starting 15 March 2026, for presence and use of methylprednisolone and for tampering or attempted tampering. Her results are disqualified from 10 September 2026. The AIU posted the decision with a link to the full details.
CITIUS MAG laid out how it happened. Aga tested positive at the Meishan Renshou Half Marathon in China on March 15, 2026, a race she won in 1 08 04. Methylprednisolone is a Class S9 glucocorticoid, banned in competition. She was ranked 11th in the world at the time.
The prescription that sank her
Aga said the substance came from treatment for a knee injury and submitted a prescription from a clinic. According to CITIUS MAG, the clinic did not exist, and the person who issued the document was a family member with no medical registration. Questioned about it, that family member said they had used an old prescription pad from a former workplace. The former workplace said the person had never worked there and the pad was not theirs.
The AIU, supported by the Ethiopian Anti-Doping Authority, established the document was forged. CITIUS MAG also reports she gave false information in an AIU interview on April 21, before producing the document on May 4.
Why it is six years and not two
The sanctions stack. Presence and use of a specified substance drew two years. Tampering drew four. Added together that is six, and CITIUS MAG notes Aga would be 38 when she is eligible to return on September 10, 2032. The cover-up cost her twice what the positive test did.
Aga is not a minor name. David Monti wrote that she made marathon podiums in Berlin, Dubai, Tokyo, New York, Sydney and Vienna among others. CITIUS MAG counts six World Marathon Major podiums between 2016 and 2019, and says she has not run a Major since 2022. From 2023 to 2026 she won marathons in Dongying, Daegu, Xiamen twice and Hangzhou, and finished runner-up in Dubai twice and Sydney. Her personal best is 2 18 09.
The positive came at a half marathon in China, well away from the Majors circuit, which is where a lot of her recent racing has been.
The clinic did not exist. The ‘doctor’ who issued it was a family member with no medical registration.
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