Gudaf Sege: Ethiopian runner served four-month doping ban for TUE

Former two-time world champion Gudaf Sege has been handed a four-month doping ban after admitting the presence of a banned substance in an out-of-competition test.

The 29-year-old Ethiopian won the women’s 5,000m world title in 2022 and the 10,000m crown in 2023 with a short-distance bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Sege returned a positive test for a metabolite of letrozole, listed under the aromatase inhibitors category in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned list in December last year.

Letrozole helps reduce estrogen levels in the body and is used to treat breast cancer.

After being notified of the investigation by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) in late January, Segai explained a day later that he had been prescribed letrozole to treat a diagnosed medical condition and produced supporting medical documents and evidence.

In February, Sege submitted an application for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) to World Athletics, which later confirmed that Wade met the international standard requirements for a medical TUE.

However, his application to grant a retrospective TUE on exceptional grounds was rejected by WADA. He entered into a litigation settlement agreement with WADA and AIU.

A statement from the AIU said the four-month ban was “deemed appropriate” as per the rules as there was no fault or negligence on the part of the athlete.

The length of the approval was based on Tsegay’s degree of culpability, his prompt admission of the violation, the fact that the presence of Letrozole met Wada’s international standards on TUEs, and the recognition that he would have been granted a TUE if it had been requested in advance.

His period of ineligibility, backdated to June 1, will run until September 30.