Spain's Marta Dominguez stripped of 2009 world steeplechase title

Marta Dominguez was accused of doping in 2013 when abnormalities were found in her blood passport dating back to 2009.

New Delhi: Steeplechaser Marta Dominguez of Spain has been has been stripped of her 2009 world steeplechase title and given a three-year doping ban.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday upheld appeals by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which challenged Spanish athletics federation's decision to clear of irregularities in her biological passport last year.

Court of Arbitration for Sport: Marta Dominguez banned for 3 years. Media release: https://t.co/JcgHQWcLJW pic.twitter.com/9pC5qmoMs3

— Sports Integrity SII (@Sport_Integrity) November 19, 2015

The 40-year-old was accused of doping in 2013 when abnormalities were found in her blood passport dating back to 2009.

Furthermore, the CAS panel annulled all of her competitive results from August 2009 to July 2013, effectively stripping her of the 3,000-meter steeplechase gold medal she won at the 2009 Beijing World Championships.

The silver medal winner from the event, Yulia Zaripova is unlikely to to be upgraded to gold, as she is also under investigation for blood doping. The Russian in fact faces losing her 2012 London Olympic gold medal.

Milcah Chemos Cheywa of Kenya finished third ahead of Russian Gulnara Samitova-Galkina and Jennifer Barringer of USA.

In addition to her world championship medal, Dominguez also won silver in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2010 European championships. She competed at the 2012 Olympics in London and finished 12th in the event.

In 2010, Dominguez was one of 14 people arrested during a Spanish criminal investigation into doping in sports. She was later released on trafficking and distribution of doping substances.

Interestingly, she was elected to the Senate of Spain from Palencia in the 2011 general election as a People's party candidate. And also served as a vice-president of Spanish athletics federation.

Spain is among six countries that were placed on a watch list by the WADA.

(With Agency inputs)