Syrian runner disqualified for doping

Syrian athlete Ghfran Almouhamad has been disqualified from the Olympic Games after failing a drugs test, the International Olympic Committee have announced.

Syrian 400 metres hurdler Ghfran Almouhamad was today disqualified from the Olympic Games after failing a drugs test.

The 23-year-old provided a urine sample on August 3 which indicated the presence of banned substance methylhexaneamine. The B sample confirmed the findings.

Almouhamad competed in the women’s 400m hurdles but failed to advance past the first round, finishing eighth in the second heat, a result which will now be annulled.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced: “The athlete, Ms Ghfran Almouhamad, Syrian Arab Republic, athletics, is disqualified from the women’s 400m hurdles event of the 2012 London Olympic Games where she placed eighth in the second heat of the first round; and shall have her Olympic identity and accreditation card cancelled and withdrawn immediately.”

The IOC said athletics’ world governing body the IAAF should “consider any further action within its own competence”.