Olympic medalist Dimitri Bascou suspended for doping

French hurdler Dimitri Bascou, an Olympic medalist from the 2016 Games, has been suspended for four years following a positive anti-doping test for steroids.

The 38-year-old athlete had been provisionally suspended since April 2024, three months after testing positive for testosterone and boldenone, two banned anabolic steroids.

Bascou, who won bronze in the 110-meter hurdles at the Rio de Janeiro Games and became European champion in the same year, declared he was "shocked" when his positive test was announced in January 2024, a result that ended his hopes of competing at home in the Paris 2024 edition.

The Martinique-born athlete claimed contamination from dietary supplements and had hoped the provisional suspension would be lifted in time to participate in the Paris Games. However, more than two years later, the sanctions committee of the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) has imposed a four-year ban.

Bascou's sanction will remain in effect until April 2028, although the athlete has previously indicated that he does not intend to resume his sporting career.