04 August 2020, 3pm
The Athletics Integrity Unit announced a four-year suspension for 2019 Fukuoka International Marathon winner El Mahjoub Dazza (MAR).
Findings from Dazza’s biological passport indicated unrealistic haemoglobin values. The AIU rejected his explanation of changes in intensity of altitude training as “highly improbable.”
Dazza will lose validity of all results he recorded from 4 May 2019 to 10 January 2020, with a four-year suspension to follow. Included among these are his 2019 Prague Marathon and 2019 Fukuoka International Marathon titles. In the latter race runner-up Taku Fujimoto is elevated to become winner.