One of the world’s top marathon runners has been given a six-year ban from the sport after submitting a fake prescription to attempt to explain a positive drug test.

Ruti Aga, who won the Tokyo Marathon in 2019, returned a positive test for the banned substance methylprednisolone, a steroid which is used to reduce pain, after winning a half-marathon in China in March.

The Ethiopian claimed she had been prescribed the drug to treat a knee injury which she had been suffering from since April 2025.

But an investigation into her test by the Ethiopian Anti-Doping Authority revealed that the prescription she submitted came from a medical clinic which did not actually exist, and was issued to her by a family member who had “no medical registration with the relevant authority”.

Aga was charged with violating three anti-doping regulations but did not respond to the charges before the deadline, which could potentially have taken a year off her suspension if she admitted the breaches.…