World 1500m champion Abeba Aregawi out of Rio despite suspension lift
By Claire Corkery
Last Updated: 17/07/16 2:12pm
The Swedish Athletics Association (SAA) have decided that Abeba Aregawi will not be selected for the Rio Games, despite having her suspension ban lifted following a positive test for a banned substance.
The former world 1500m champion, who was suspended from competing in February by the Swedish Athletics Federation, had hoped to be included in Sweden's Olympic team after her suspension was lifted on Thursday.
However, the SAA said on Sunday that uncertainty surrounding Aregawi's "medical and physical status and environment" would have to be clarified before she could be considered for selection.
The decision means the Ethiopian-born athlete will not be nominated for Sweden's Olympic squad, team coach Karin Torneklint confirmed.
Aregawi has not raced in 2016, after testing positive for meldonium from a sample taken in Addis Ababa on Jan 12, but had hoped her times from last year would have enabled her to run.
Meldonium was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency list of banned substances on January 1, but the agency said in April that positive tests could be overturned due to a lack of clear scientific information on how long the drug takes to be excreted from the body.
The 26-year-old middle-distance runner is just one of many athletes to have tested positive for meldonium since January, the most high profile being tennis star Maria Sharapova.
Aregawi began competing for Sweden in 2012 and went on to win the world title in Moscow in 2013 and the world indoor title in Sopot in 2014.
