Mercyline Chelangat banned for five years for doping

The double Olympian, who competed at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships, tested positive for testosterone in two separate samples.

Mercyline Chelangat, the 2018 Commonwealth 10,000m bronze medallist, has been banned for five years by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for the use of testosterone.

The 28-year-old, who represented Uganda at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, received the ban after testing positive for the banned substance in multiple samples.

Chelangat first provided an out-of-competition urine sample in Kapchorwa on August 13 and then gave an in-competition urine sample on September 14 in Tokyo, just after she had clocked 2:45:36 for 49th in the marathon at the World Athletics Championships.

Both samples returned the presence of testosterone metabolites and androsterone, both of which are steroid hormones and banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The AIU subsequently launched an investigation and found firstly that Chelangat did not have a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) to explain either of the samples.

Chelangat, when asked about the adverse findings, claimed that “she was injured in 2023 and as result had been using Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and other pain killers on a daily basis for almost two years prior to the Tokyo World Championships”.

The Ugandan added that “she was treated for pneumonia in August 2025 in a clinic in Uganda and received several unspecified injections”. Chelangat did however accept the adverse finding in the second sample (Toky0) but claimed “she had not intentionally used any prohibited substances”.

When asked to substantiate those claims by the AIU, Chelangat provided a list of the supplements, clinical notes and photos of partially used supplements, but the AIU noted that “none of the medications or supplements referred to contained testosterone or a testosterone precursor”.

On New Year’s Eve, Chelangat signed a form to confirm that she admitted the anti-doping rule violations and accepted the consequences.

The distance runner, who first came to fame after securing the bronze medal at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, received a six-year ban from the AIU, which was reduced by one year for early admission.

Chelangat’s results results from August 13, 2025 (including placing 49th in the marathon at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships) have been disqualified.