The reigning Vancouver and Montreal Half Marathon champion, Mohamed Aagab of Campbellton, N.B., has obtained a three-year suspension for an anti-doping rule violation by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES).
Aagab offered a urine pattern after successful the 2023 BMO Vancouver Half Marathon on Might 7, which revealed the presence of recombinant erythropoietin (rEPO), a prohibited peptide hormone used to enhance efficiency by rising the blood’s capability to hold oxygen.
Aagab was born in Morocco however has lived in Campbellton, N.B., since 2018. He received the Quebec Metropolis Marathon in 2018 and the 2023 21K de Montréal, in addition to the 2023 BMO Vancouver Half Marathon.
In accordance with CCES, on Oct. 3, Aagab signed an Early Admission and Acceptance Settlement, admitting to the violation and accepting the interval of ineligibility and all different penalties. In consequence, the in any other case relevant four-year interval of ineligibility was lowered by one 12 months, in accordance with the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP). Aagab’s three-year suspension, efficient Sept. 12, 2023, terminates on Sept. 11, 2026.
Aagab competed twice after his optimistic check on Might 7, ending fifteenth total on the 2023 Ottawa Marathon in 2:18:34, ending one spot behind high Canadian Lee Wesselius, who was 14th. He additionally ran in a 5,000m on the Hub Metropolis Traditional in Moncton, N.B. on June 10, the place he completed third, in 15:27. Each outcomes can be disqualified, alongside along with his Vancouver Half Marathon win.
Throughout the sanction interval, Aagab is ineligible to take part in any capability with any sport signatory to the CADP, together with coaching with teammates.
That is the primary distance working anti-doping case in Canada since David Freake of St. John’s, N.L. was given a four-year doping ban when he examined optimistic for EPO and several other different banned substances after the 2019 Ottawa Marathon.
