Lukhwareni & Others Suspended For Two Years

From David Monti
© 2005 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com
By Riel Hauman
The four South African athletes from the Harmony Gold Athletics Club who tested positive for 19-Norandrosterone in 2005 have all been suspended for two years. Athletics South Africa announced that the four runners, Azwindini (Gladys) Lukhwareni, Edward Kgosimang, Merriam Mooki and Maxwell Zungu, have been found guilty by its discplinary committee, who considered the evidence against the athletes on January 13.
Lukhwareni, 25, was tested at the Cape Town leg of the Spar 10 km Series on September 4 –-a race she won in 32:21.45 seconds better than her previous best. The time, if allowed, would have placed her fourth on the all-time list behind Elana Meyer, Colleen de Reuck and Zola Pieterse.
The suspension means that Lukhwareni, who had admitted taking the drug before the final hearing, will not be able to run in the Two Oceans ultramarathon over Easter – a race in which she finished third and fourth for the last two years (first South African on both occasions).
The other three runners were tested out of competition, Kgosimang on October 5 and Mooki and Zungu both on September 29.
Kgosimang won the Cape Town Marathon on September 11 on his debut in 2:16:06 –-the fastest time in South Africa (on a standard course) for the year. Mooki won the Capital Classic Half Marathon in 86:36 on October 15, while Zungu finished fourth in the Linz Marathon in Austria in April, running 2:21:21.
ASA said in a statement that, should the athletes wish to return to competition after their two-year period of ineligibility, according to the IAAF rules they must make themselves available for out-of-competition testing at any time during the period of ineligibility. The athletes will be required to take a minimum of three such tests, with at least four months between each test. A final test for the full range of prohibited substances will then be conducted immediately prior to the end of the suspension period, according to the statement.