Turkish runner sues IAAF over 'failures' in dope test

ANKARA

Turkish female runner Elvan Abeylegesse Wednesday has sued the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for "technical failures" in her retrospective analysis.

The Turkish Athletic Federation suspended her last year after testing results, from the 2005 and 2007 world championships, showed presence of a banned substance.

The Ethiopian-born female athlete applied to the Monaco administrative court that the IAAF had made mistakes in her retrospective analysis of her urine samples from the 2005 and 2007 World Championships.

Her agent Onder Ozbilen told Anadolu Agency that a suit was filed after they received a report from an expert working for a laboratory accredited to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

"Eight or nine technical failures were made in the retrospective analysis," Ozbilen said, adding that the conditions for storage of samples looked doubtful.

The Turkish runner's agent said that they made offers to the IAAF for a goodwill solution but they were rejected in the plea process.

Ozbilen added that the IAAF's claims will be declared null and void if they win the case.

Rejecting doping claims, Elvan Abeylegesse said last year: "I have not used a [banned] substance and I have never thought about taking one."

The IAAF announced in August that a disciplinary investigation had been launched against 28 athletes who took part in the 2005 and 2007 World Championships after detecting 32 "adverse findings" in a second analysis.

A majority of these athletes are reportedly retired and other were already sanctioned for doping.

In the 2007 world championships in Osaka, Japan, Elvan Abeylegesse came second in the 10,000-meter race. She also won silver medals in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.