The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has banned Moroccan long-distance runner Mustapha El Aziz for four years after he tested positive for Erythropoietin (EPO), the body founded by the International Association of Athletics Federations announced earlier in October. The silver medalist tested positive for the «banned blood booster» when he was participating in a road race in Karlovac in Croatia in June and during another sports event held in Langueux in France in August, Olympic news website Inside the Games reported. El Aziz «stated that he did not ingest EPO intentionally but failed to provide any evidence for how the substance entered his body», AIU said in its decision. After winning the race in Karlovac and Langueux, El Aziz will be stripped of the results in both sports events, the same source added. After failing to respond to the requests of the body, AIU «wrote to the athlete to confirm that he was considered to have admitted the Anti-Doping Rule Violations and to have accepted the specified Consequences». For the record, El Aziz' best performance was that recorded in 2016, when he set a Moroccan record for the half-marathon at Valencia.
