Like her sister: runner Sofia Benfares gets long doping ban
Runner Sofia Benfares has been banned for four years for a doping offence by the German Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), one month after her sister, Sara Benfares, was banned for five years.
The NADA said on Monday that Sofia Benfares tested positive for the forbidden blood booster erythropoetine (EPO) and all her results between January 11 and her provisional suspension the following month are scrapped.
The statement said that Benfares has the right to contest the ruling at a German Court of Arbitration for Sport within 20 days.
Benfares, 19, was third over 3,000m at last year's European junior championships.
Sara Benfares, 22, came 12th over 5,000m at the 2022 European championships and was aiming to compete at this year's Paris Olympics before being banned for five years by the NADA in April.
The NADA said it went beyond the usual four-year sanction because of "aggravating circumstances," saying that five forbidden substances were detected in three doping tests, including the steroids testosterone and clenbuterol, as well as EPO.
Her lawyer, Dubravko Mandic, told broadcasters Saarändischer Rundfunk in March that she was ending her career. Benfares' father, Samir Benfares, had previously also told a French portal that she was no longer running after being diagnosed with bone cancer and taking medication.
Sara Benfares has also been charged by German prosecutors on suspicion of unauthorized self-doping. Sofia Benfares could face similar charges as doping is a criminal offence in Germany.
The sisters grew up near Paris but compete for Germany.
Along with their older sister Selma, they were kicked out of their German club, LC Rehlingen, in connection with the affair.
