Tokyo Marathon winner Ruti Aga banned for six years over positive test at China half marathon and forged prescription

The 2019 Tokyo Marathon champion, Ruti Aga, has been banned for six years for a positive test for the glucocorticoid methylprednisolone at a half marathon in China and for tampering with the investigation that followed, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced in Monaco on 22 October 2026.

The 32-year-old Ethiopian gave the positive sample at the Meishan Renshou Half Marathon on 15 March 2026, a race she won. The AIU gave her two years for the presence and use of a specified substance and four years for tampering.

Aga attributed the positive test to treatment for a knee injury. The prescription she submitted came from a clinic that did not exist, and the doctor named on it turned out to be a family member with no medical registration with the relevant authority. When questioned, the relative said an old prescription pad from a former workplace had been used. That clinic confirmed the person had never worked there and that the prescription was not theirs.

The AIU's investigation, supported by the Ethiopian Anti-Doping Authority, established that the document was forged. Aga was found to have breached Anti-Doping Rules 2.1 and 2.2, on the presence and use of a prohibited substance, and Rule 2.5, "Tampering or Attempted Tampering with any part of Doping Control". The tampering covers false information she gave in an interview with AIU representatives on 21 April 2026 and a "forged/manipulated document" she produced on 4 May 2026 to back up the prescription.

Methylprednisolone is listed in Class S9 (glucocorticoids) on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List and is banned in competition.

"We have made significant progress against doping in marathon running over the past six to seven years, but much remains to be done," Brett Clothier, the AIU's chief executive, said. "Investigations are vital to uncovering doping and exposing false explanations. Protecting clean competition takes resources, but this case sends a clear message: attempts to cheat will be exposed."

Aga had been provisionally suspended in September. The sports news sites Tournaments.com, Lente Desportiva and EssentiallySports, reporting on the AIU's written decision, said it was dated 20 October, that she did not respond to the charges and was banned without a hearing, and that the decision can be appealed.

She won the Tokyo Marathon on 3 March 2019 in 2:20:40, 21 seconds ahead of her compatriot Helen Tola. The AIU says she was ranked 11th in the world at the time of her positive test and credits her with four top-three finishes at the World Marathon Majors. Her personal best of 2:18:09 was set in Dongying, China, in 2023.

She won the last two editions of the Xiamen Marathon, both World Athletics Platinum Label road races, setting a course record of 2:18:46 in 2025 and defending the title on 11 January 2026 in 2:22:45. Her winning time in Renshou was 1:08:04, the magazine Canadian Running reported.

The Renshou race, held in Meishan in Sichuan province, doubled this year as China's national half marathon championships. It gained World Athletics Platinum Label status in 2025, the first half marathon in China to do so, Xinhua reported in March.

Two Kenyans have received similar sanctions for doping and false documents. In December 2022 the AIU banned Diana Kipyokei, the 2021 Boston Marathon winner, for six years after a positive test for a metabolite of triamcinolone acetonide, a corticosteroid, and fake documentation she said came from a hospital; she lost her Boston title. In June 2026 Kibiwott Kandie, the former half marathon world record holder, was banned for seven years for refusing to provide a sample and for tampering. His ban is backdated to 14 March 2025 and runs until 13 March 2032.