French 3,000m steeplechase specialist Ophelie Claude-Boxberger has tested positive for EPO, a source close to the case said on Tuesday.
This is third doping case in French athletics in less than a year.
Paris’ Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed it had opened a “preliminary investigation on 14 October into offences under anti-doping and poisonous substances legislation” following a report from the French anti-doping agency (AFLD).
“I learned once again from the press that there would be a positive test, there was no confirmation from the AFLD,” said Andre Giraud, the president of the French Athletics Federation (FFA).
He said a change of law in March means “we have been kept out of the proceedings. We no longer have disciplinary powers. We are not happy about this type of affair. They create unease, there is no denying it.”
Claude-Boxberger, 31, had a difficult time at September’s World Championships in Doha as she finished a distant last in her heat and social media posts suggested she was in a relationship with the French team’s medical director Jean-Michel Serra.
He quit his position midway through the championships “for personal reasons”.
In June, Serra, without warning his superiors, complained about the number of doping tests Claude-Boxberger had been subject to by the French authorities. At the time, he denied any relationship with the runner.
