Olympic star banned for age fraud

Luguelin Santos, a 400m runner from the Dominican Republic who won silver medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and 2012 London Olympics, received a three-year ban for age fraud.

Luguelin Santos after winning the 400m race at the IAAF Diamond League in Brussels, Belgium on September 1, 2017. Photo: Reuters — Luguelin Santos after winning the 400m race at the IAAF Diamond League in Brussels, Belgium on September 1, 2017. Photo: *Reuters*

On December 1, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced that Santos had been banned from competing for three years because the Dominican Republic athlete falsified his age to participate in the World Youth Championships - now renamed the World U20 Championships - in 2012, where he won a gold medal in the men's 400m event.

Santos admitted to competing in the 2012 FIFA U-20 World Cup with a "special passport" that had a fake birth date of November 12, 1993. He was born on that day, but in 1992, making him over 20 and ineligible to compete. The Dominican Republic athlete used his original passport with a birth year of 1992 for other official purposes.

The AIU provisionally suspended Santos on July 8, 2022, and formally charged him on December 22, 2022. Santos accepted the charges on January 13, 2023, and admitted to over-age participation on March 11, 2023. According to the AIU, Santos' medals will be stripped and his results from the 2012 tournament will be disqualified.

Santos' three-year ban runs from March 11, 2023 to March 10, 2026. Santos is 31 and can continue competing professionally at 34. The AIU has expressed concern about the prevalence of age fraud, citing its impact on the integrity of youth athletics competitions.

Santos was stripped of his men's 400m gold medal at the 2012 World Junior Championships, but retained his remaining titles at both junior and professional levels.

The Dominican Republic athlete won gold medals in the men's 400m and men's mixed relay at the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympics . At the Universiade, Santos won double gold medals in the 400m and 4x400m relay at Gwangju 2015 and Taipei 2017.

As a professional, Santos won a silver medal in the 400m at London 2012 and a silver medal in the 4×400m medley relay at Tokyo 2021. He won a bronze medal in the 400m at the 2013 Moscow World Championships, a silver medal in the 400m at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara and a gold medal in the 400m at Toronto 2015.

Hong Duy

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