New Zealand`s Hunter-Galvan banned from 2012 Games

London: Banned marathon runner Liza Hunter-Galvan will be ineligible for selection for New Zealand at the 2012 London Olympics, officials said.

Hunter-Galvan was suspended by the New Zealand Sports Tribunal last week until May 2011 after she tested positive for the blood-boosting drug erythropoietin (EPO). The ban excluded her from competing at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, however, the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) said on Tuesday that under their rules on doping, she would also be ineligible to compete in London after her ban ends. "The NZOC anti-doping policy states that any athlete found by an anti-doping disciplinary panel to have committed an anti-doping rule violation for the use of prohibited substances is ineligible for selection into an NZOC team for the next Games following the date of expiry of the period of ineligibility imposed by the Sports Tribunal," the statement read. "This applies to both Commonwealth and Olympic Games." Hunter-Galvan tested positive to the banned substance at an out-of-competition test conducted at her home in the United States in March this year.She admitted taking the drug at a tribunal hearing last week. Hunter-Galvan represented New Zealand at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, finishing 51st. She was not selected for last year`s Beijing Olympics after Athletics New Zealand thought she had little hope of finishing in the top 16 based on her previous results, however, she won an appeal that allowed her to compete and came 35th. Bureau Report