By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@WorldAthletics.
Long jumper Luvo Manyonga’s roller-coaster career looks to have fizzled to a disappointing close, with the elite star receiving another ban from competition.
“The disciplinary tribunal has banned South African long jumper Luvo Manyonga for four years from 23 December 2020 for whereabouts failures,” independent anti-doping body the Athletics Integrity Unit confirmed in a statement on Friday.
Manyonga was found to have missed one doping test and had also failed to communicate his whereabouts with anti-doping officials on two occasions within a 12-month period.
Having already served a suspension earlier in his career, Manyonga was slapped with a four-year ban as it was his second offence.
He was also criticised for not making himself available to the disciplinary tribunal which addressed his case.
“The athlete has not in fact cooperated with this hearing process and has declined several opportunities to attend the hearing,” arbitrator William Norris wrote in the disciplinary report.
In 2012, Manyonga, also Commonwealth champion in 2018, was banned for 18 months after testing positive for recreational drug crystal meth (methamphetamine).
Despite fighting a recreational drug addiction throughout his elite career, the talented athlete had managed to secure the silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio before winning gold at the 2017 World Championships in London.
The 30-year-old national record holder, who has not competed since September 2019, has not qualified for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
And while he can appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, his ban will keep him from competing at the 2024 Games in Paris, as well as the 2022 and 2023 editions of the World Championships.