Refugee Olympic Team's Anjelina Lohalith receives four-year suspension for positive doping test

Anjelina Lohalith, a native of South Sudan, who competed for the refugee Olympic team at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics in the Women's 1500m event, tested positive for a doping test. The incident occurred just two days before the refugee team is to be confirmed for the 2024 Paris Olympics by the IOC (International Olympic Committee).

Lohalith was informed about her positive results for trimetazidine (a banned substance that helps the body use more oxygen) by the Athletics Integrity Unit, the anti-doping organization of the International Association of Athletics Federation. Owing to this she was handed a four year ban.

The South Sudan native last competed at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. During the tournament, she finished 24th in the 10 km XC event registering a run time of 33:26. However, this ban just two days before the Olympic team announcement will deeply hurt Anjelina Lohalith's dreams of making it to her third straight Olympics as a part of the refugee team.

However, this is not the first time this sort of instance has taken place among the refugee athletes. In fact, this is the third such case in the past six months in which members among the 75 scholarship athletes of UNHCR are facing such consequences.

Recently a Moroccan 3000-m steeplechase runner Fouad Idbafdil and a 1500-m runner from South Sudan, Dominic Lokolong Atiol also tested positive for doping of banned substance EPO and trimetazidine, respectively.

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Anjelina Lohalith - First Refugee Olympic athlete to win an international race

Anjelina Nadai Lohalith

Even though at the brisk of getting banned, Anjelina Lohalith has had a motivating story herself for all the aspiring young track and field athletes around the globe. From the horrors of the Sudanese Civil War to the bright lights of the Olympics, the 31-year-old track and field athlete has seen it all.

Last year she nailed another record to her name after she finished first at the 2023 European Championships Clubs Cross-Country. With this, she became the first refugee athlete to win an international race.

After her victory, she opened up about her thought process and dedicated the victory to other members of her refugee team. In an interview with the Olympics.com, Anjelina Lohalith said:

"I felt like I really represented the refugees well. I also dedicated my win to all refugees to give them hope that they can really make it, it doesn't matter how hard their current or past situation is."

She added:

"With the support we have from the IOC, World Athletics, UNHCR, I decided to take the opportunity to improve myself as a runner. I want to train hard and find myself in a new version. I have the talent, I just need to take the chance."

Apart from this performance, the 31-year-old hasn't been able to light up the international stage in any other tournaments.