Luguelin Santos (Credit: Twitter)
Santos, who can also be a two-time Youth Olympic champion, went on to win a silver medal within the 400m on the 2012 London Olympics.
Dominican sprinter Luguelin Santos has been stripped of his World Junior Championships gold medal and banned for 3 years for age manipulation violations, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) stated on Friday.
Santos, now 31, gained 400 meters gold on the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona.
In a press release, the AIU stated Santos had “admitted to competing in the 2012 age-group championships with a passport showing a falsified date of birth – Nov. 12, 1993 – when in fact he was born on that date in 1992.
“Thus, he was ineligible to participate in the World Juniors 2012 which, based on the 2012 Competition Rules, required junior athletes to be aged 18 or 19 on Dec. 31 of the competition year.”
The AIU has banned Luguelin Miguel Santos Aquino (Dominican Republic) for 3 years, from 11 March 2023 to 10 March 2026, for violating Rules 141 (Age classes), 9.6 (Corrupt Practices) and 9.10(c) (Failure to report) of the IAAF Competition Rules 2012-2013 (…) pic.twitter.com/rSxaW4xknU— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) December 1, 2023
The AIU flagged the discrepancy, and when it confronted Santos, he advised the group that, “on instructions, he had obtained a ‘special passport’ issued by the Dominican authorities, which gave his date of birth as being November 12, 1993.” He additionally advised the AIU that he was advised to make use of the “special passport” for competitions however his real passport, which had 1992 as his delivery 12 months, for all different official functions.
Officials haven’t but stated if American Arman Hall, who earned a silver medal behind Santos, can be upgraded to champion.
Santos’ three-12 months interval of ineligibility runs from March 11, 2023, to March 10, 2026. The AIU acknowledged its concern over the prevalence of age manipulation, citing its affect on the integrity of junior athletics competitions.
Santos, who can also be a two-time Youth Olympic champion, went on to win a silver medal within the 400m on the 2012 London Olympics.
Santos has had a stellar skilled profession in observe and subject, successful three world medals within the 400m, together with two Olympic silvers. He additionally gained the lads’s 400m on the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.
“Unlike with sanctions for doping violations … there is no basis on which to annul his Olympic result as that was not an age-group event and no violation was committed there,” stated Brett Clothier, Head of the AIU.
(with inputs from companies)
