Abeba Aregawi will not be selected for next month’s Rio Olympics despite having her doping suspension lifted following a positive test for meldonium, the Swedish Athletics Association (SAA) said yesterday.
Aregawi has not competed in 2016 due to her suspension, which was lifted yesterday, but still hoped to be included in Sweden’s Olympic team.
SAA general secretary Stefan Olsson, however, said in a statement that uncertainty surrounding Aregawi’s “medical and physical status and environment” would have to be clarified before she could be considered for selection.
Team coach Karin Torneklint added that the SAA committee’s decision meant that the Ethiopian-born 26-year-old would not be nominated for Sweden’s Olympic squad.
Aregawi’s doping suspension was lifted after the Swedish Sports Confederation said it had not been proven that she had taken meldonium after it was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of banned substances on Jan. 1.
The former 1500m world champion was suspended by the SAA in February following a positive test for meldonium, from a sample taken in Addis Ababa on Jan. 12 this year. WADA said in April, however, that positive tests could be overturned due to a lack of clear scientific information on how long the drug takes to be excreted from the body. Aregawi ran for Ethiopia at the 2012 London Games, but began competing for Sweden later that year after being granted citizenship.
She won the world outdoor 1500 title in 2013. She has not raced in 2016, but hoped her times from last year would enable her to run at the Rio Games, which start on August 5.