The complicated doping ban of 2013 world athletics champion

Aman, an Ethiopian middle-distance runner, was first flagged in January 2021 when anti-doping officials requested a urine sample while he was training at Addis Ababa Stadium. He declined to provide the sample, citing a sudden family death. In the days that followed, testers were unable to locate him at his home. Authorities deemed his explanation invalid.

In February 2021, Ethiopia's National Anti-Doping Office (ETH-NADO) provisionally suspended Aman for evading testing and imposed a four-year ban a month later. However, the case took a complicated turn when Aman appealed and office overturned the ban, allowing him to compete again.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) challenged that decision and appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which concluded its review in April 2022. But the final ruling was only delivered on Feb. 20, 2025. CAS sided with WADA, reinstating Aman's four-year ban but acknowledged that the athlete had already been deemed ineligible for a portion of that time.

This has led to confusion over the actual suspension period that Aman must serve. While the Athletics Integrity Unit database shows Aman as disqualified from Jan. 30, 2021, which seemingly fulfilled the four-year ban, it also lists his new ban ending on Oct. 29, 2028.

WADA clarified that only 189 days of Aman's initial suspension were effectively served before ETH-NADO's reversal which allowed him to return to competition. As a result, he now has 1,271 days, or nearly 3.5 years left to serve.

Aman, now 31, has not competed since February 2020. He made history at just 19 years old by winning the gold medal in the 800m run at the 2013 World Athletics Championships in Moscow, becoming the first Ethiopian to win an outdoor world title in the event.

He also competed in the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics, held multiple indoor world titles, and owns Ethiopia's national record in the 800m at 1 hours and 42.37 minutes.