Marathon runner Josh Griffiths handed ban after positive drug test

Josh Griffiths, a 33-year-old athlete who has represented Great Britain and Wales, returned a positive drugs test for Benzoylecgonine, a substance found in the body when it processes cocaine, following the Belfast City Marathon in May. The Athletics Integrity Unit imposed a three-month ban starting June 19 and expunged his race results from the date of the marathon until the end of the suspension. Griffiths strongly denied ever knowingly taking cocaine or any social drug, telling officials that the finding was absolutely impossible. Although he was unable to prove how the substance entered his system, the Athletics Integrity Unit accepted his submissions that any ingestion was out of competition and unrelated to sport, leading the athlete to ultimately accept the anti-doping rule violation and sanction.