Nine Turkish athletes banned for doping

Link between athletics and doping strengthens as International Association of Athletics bans athletes for two years.

Turkey''s flag bearer Neslihan Darnel holds the national flag as she leads the contingent in the athletes parade during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games
First Jamaica... now Turkish athletes from number of disciplines have tested positive [Reuters]

Nine Turkish track and field athletes have been banned for two years each after testing positive for anabolic steroid.

The IAAF said on Wednesday that six of the athletes are women, including two teenagers.

Six cases involved field athletes testing positive for stanozolol at Turkey’s national university championships held in May at Bursa. Stanozolol is the steroid used by Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson at the 1988 Seoul
Olympics.

Among those six, three athletes also tested positive for oral turinabol, the steroid used in state-sponsored East German doping programs in the 1970s and 1980s.

The IAAF said 17-year-old discus thrower Burcu Akmazoglu tested positive for both banned drugs. She is suspended from competing through June 13, 2015. 

A second teenager, 18-year-old hammer thrower Elif Akbas, also tested positive for stanozolol at the student event.

Widespread

An IAAF list of sanctioned athletes shows that stanozolol and oral turinabol were both found in samples taken at Bursa from Kubra Danis, a 22-year-old shot putter, and Gokce Celenk, a 25-year-old discus thrower.

Javelin throwers Sarik Bilgin, who is 25, and 21-year-old Gulsum Ozdemir Gunes also tested positive for stanozolol.

The IAAF said the other cases involve two field athletes and one runner testing positive for stanozolol, methandienone and oxandrolone, respectively. 

Ali Ekber Kayas, a 26-year-old 400-meter runner who competed at the 2012 world indoor championships in Istanbul, gave a sample with oxandrolone at a national competition in May 2012. He is suspended through July 2, 2014.

Shot putter Nilgun Ozturk tested positive for methandienone at the same competition, and received the same ban as Kayas.

The IAAF said 21-year-old javelin thrower Berkay Tolun tested positive for stanozolol during training in May. His ban expires on June 6, 2015.

Source: AP