The International Association of Athletics Federations has re-imposed provisional suspensions on four of the six suspended female 400m runners, pending resolution of their case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The athletes, who have been suspended again, on the conclusion of their one-year suspensions imposed by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), are Mandeep Kaur, Jauna Murmu, Sini Jose and Tiana Mary Thomas.
The other two athletes, charged with anti-doping rule violations for steroid use in June, 2011, along with the above four, Ashwini A.C. and Priyanka Panwar, would be suspended from June 27 when their original suspensions were to end, according to an IAAF spokesman in Monte Carlo.
Mandeep and Murmu, tested by the IAAF in May last year, were to have ended their suspensions last Friday. Their re-instatement testing is, however, yet to be completed. Sini and Tiana ended their one-year suspensions on June 11 last.
Their re-instatement status has remained uncertain since the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) had gone ahead with the assumption that they too had to complete four tests like Mandeep and Murmu, who were “international-level” athletes when they were tested in May last year. The AFI has carried out two re-instatement tests on all six athletes so far.
The latest IAAF suspension finally ends the Olympic dreams of the athletes who at one stage were being projected as possible medal contenders in the London Games as part of the 4x400m relay team.
