Gomathi’s appeal rejected by CAS, Gayanthika awaits bronze medal

Sri Lanka middle distance runner Gayanthika Abeyrathne will be elevated and receive the Bronze medal for the 2019 Asian Athletics Championship 800m women’s event, as the Gold medalist, India’s Gomathi Marimuthu’s appeal against her four-year suspension, was rejected by CAS.

Gomathi won the 800m event but was subsequently stripped of the Gold medal and handed a four-year ban for doping by the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal on 26 May last year. She then appealed to the CAS challenging the verdict.

The sole arbitrator of CAS, Prof. Jan Paulsson of Bahrain, however, ruled that Gomathi was guilty of doping and would undergo a four-year suspension as ordered by the first-instance hearing panel, from 17 May 2019 to 16 May 2023.

All her results attained between 18 March and 17 May 2019 would stand annulled.

In fact, Gomathi had failed three tests prior to the 2019 Asian Championships — on 18 March 2019 during the Federation Cup in Patiala and twice on 13 April 2019 during the selection trials in Patiala.

Abeyrathne finished fourth in the 800m final, and now awaits her medal from the Asian Athletics Association.

In her appeal, Gomathi contended that she suffered from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), which, combined with a “spontaneous” miscarriage in January 2019 after till-then-undisclosed pregnancy, could have caused abnormally high concentration of 19-norandrosterone in her urine.

She had also alleged that there was improper testing process resulting in the unreliability of the results.
But all these contentions were dismissed by the sole arbitrator.