The AIU has banned former Tokyo Marathon champion 🇪🇹 Ruti Aga for six years after a positive test for methylprednisolone and a separate tampering violation for producing a forged document during the investigation. Aga tested positive at the Meishan Renshou Half Marathon in China on March 15, 2026, where she won in 1:08:04. Methylprednisolone is a Class S9 glucocorticoid, banned in competition. She was ranked 11th in the world at the time. From 2016 to 2019, she had six podium finishes at World Marathon Majors. She has not competed at a World Marathon Major since 2022. From 2023–2026, she earned five marathon wins across Dongying, Daegu, Xiamen (twice) and Hangzhou, plus runner-up finishes in Dubai (twice) and Sydney, with a personal best of 2:18:09. Her excuse: Aga said the substance came from treatment for a knee injury and submitted a prescription from a clinic. The clinic did not exist. The ‘doctor’ who issued it was a family member with no medical registration. When questioned, the family member said they’d used an old prescription pad from a former workplace. That clinic confirmed the person had never worked there and the pad wasn’t theirs. The AIU, supported by the Ethiopian Anti-Doping Authority, established that the document was forged. She’d also given false information in an AIU interview on April 21 before producing the document on May 4. As a result: Presence/Use of a Specified Substance | 2 years Tampering | 4 years = 6 years She would be 38 years old when eligible to return on September 10, 2032.