United States sprinter and Olympic gold medalist Randolph Ross junior has been banned for three years for ‘whereabouts failures’ and faking an email to anti-doping authorities.
The Athletics Integrity Unit announced Tuesday that the back-to-back NCAA champion from North Carolina A&T will be suspended until June 30, 2025, meaning he will not be eligible for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Ross had been provisionally suspended on the eve of his 400-meter preliminary race at the world track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon, on July 16, about a month after officials could not locate him to take a doping test. It was his third whereabouts failure in a 12-month period.
Ross then provided a copy of an automatic email from the whereabouts system that showed he had given new contact details, but he later admitted he had doctored it when he was questioned by the AIU representatives, the unit said.
When his ban was announced on Tuesday, it was confirmed that his results will not stand from June 18 onwards, meaning he is still the NCAA back-to-back champion.
Ross won an Olympic gold medal as part of the 4x400m squad at the Tokyo Games in 2021, though he didn’t compete in the final. In the 400, he was eliminated in the heats in Tokyo.
His Olympic gold, and those won by his teammates in the 4×400, will not be affected as they fall outside the period of his whereabouts failures.
