An Olympic athlete has been banned for four years after testing positive for metabolites of testosterone.
Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, a Ukrainian track and field star, returned a positive result from a test on December 7 last year.
The 30-year-old has competed at the Olympics three times and has also been a silver medallist at the World Championships for long jump and triple jump.
However, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has banned her for four years after giving her until August 10 to admit to the violation, in which case she would have been given a one-year reduction.
Bekh-Romanchuk has denied doping, claiming that her level of testosterone was caused by an unspecified medical condition and treatment. She can still appeal against her ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
However, the AIU, who originally announced the case in May, say she has not proven her medical claim.
A Ukrainian Olympic athlete has been banned for four years for testosterone doping
Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk denies testosterone doping and says the case ‘pains’ her
The three-time Olympian, seen in Paris, has taken silver twice at the World Championships
It could spell the end of her career at the top level as, despite placing 11th at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the triple jump final, she could miss out entirely on Los Angeles 2028.
Due to the ban only being set to expire in May 2029, she will also miss out on two more world championships.
However, Bekh-Romanchuk also works as a model and influencer and as such may be able to fall back on that path.
The Moroziv-born star has 491,000 followers on Instagram and has posted modelling photos for Ukrainian brands such as the Domino Group, Trihard, and Fabric 17.
Earlier this year, she celebrated her seventh wedding anniversary with Mykhailo Romanchuk, a swimmer born in 1996.
The Ukrainian sports power couple regularly share photographs together on social media and go to the Olympics together.
At the Tokyo 2020 Games, which took place in 2021 due to Covid-19, he claimed a silver and bronze medal in the men’s 1500m and 800m freestyle respectively, while she placed fifth in long jump.
Commenting recently on her ban, before the AIU decision was announced, Bekh-Romanchuk said: ‘I can no longer fight on two fronts — my honest name in front of the Athletics Integrity Unit and my future in my personal life.
She shares insights into her life with her swimmer husband Mykhailo Romanchuk
She works as a model and influencer and will be able to fall back on that line of work
Bekh-Romanchuk has almost 500,000 Instagram followers, who enjoy following her and her husband’s adventures
‘It’s incredibly exhausting, firstly emotionally and has an impact on my health. Sometimes it’s important to take a break and get your priorities right. That’s why I decided to take a break to focus on my family and my own health.
‘Soon the decision of the Athletics Integrity Unit will be published, with which I strongly disagree. I refused to sign any documents that required recognition of my guilt, because I am an honest person and my humanity and dignity are important to me.
‘It pains me that my case has been handled carelessly and not conducted the necessary investigation.
‘I understand that this raises a lot of questions – so soon I will be giving a big interview in which I will tell everything frankly.’
