Africa-Press – Lesotho. Lesotho distance runner ‘Mamoroallo Tjoka has lost her appeal against her eight-year doping ban. Once Lesotho’s most successful marathon runner, the five-time Soweto Marathon winner was banned for eight years by the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) in October 2018 for violating its anti-doping rules.
Tjoka has been challenging her ban since 2019 but, after years of fighting, her appeals have finally been tossed out and SAIDS’s Appeal Board has upheld her the eight-year sentence.
Tjoka’s lawyer Adv Motiea Teele was notified of the decision last month in a letter. He was reminded that should Tjoka wish to appeal the decision of the SAIDS Appeal Board, they have 21 days to do so. They received the decision on July 18, 2023.
The case started on October 7, 2018 when the institute requested Tjoka to submit “A” and “B” urine samples during an out-of-competition test in accordance with the 2016 SAIDS Anti-Doping Rules and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code.
However, Tjoka is said to have evaded, refused and or failed to submit the sample to the doping officer who was authorised to test her. Then in June 2019, she was charged with an anti-doping rule violation for evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection and in terms of Article 2.5 of the Rules.
She was also accused of tampering or attempted tampering with “any part of Drug Control by means of subverting the Doping Control process, (but which would not otherwise be included in the definition of Prohibited Methods), but includes without limitation, intentionally interfering or attempting to interfere with a Doping Control official, providing fraudulent information to an Anti-Doping organisation or intimidating or attempting to intimidate a potential witness”, according to SAIDS.
The Federation of Athletics Lesotho (FAL) Makara Thibinyane, confirmed they have also received the decision to uphold Tjoka’s suspension and urged athletes to avoid using performance enhancing drugs.
He also said it is important to comply with anti-doping body requests whether one has used or not used drugs. “We are asking (athletes) to avoid taking drugs at all times. We want them to work with the anti-doping bodies whether you have used drugs or not, because if you start avoiding them it’s not good,” he said.
“Obviously, it’s not good for us, a lot of Basotho are appearing on these things a lot now, we have one case that has just been concluded now that has ended up in an eight-year ban as well,” he said.
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