Sureyya Ayhan

Süreyya Ayhan Kop (born September 6, 1978) is a former Turkish middle distance track runner who specialised in the 1500 metres.

The 31 year old has been banned for life after a second doping offense.

Her first offense was at the 2004 Athens Olympics, one of Turkey’s best hopes for a gold medal, she withdrew from the games due to an injured tendon during a training in Germany.

Allegations that Ayhan may have attempted to cheat on a pre-Olympic doping test surfaced in August after testers reportedly complained of being obstructed from carrying out their work.

She was cleared of doping allegations by the IAAF, but the athlete violated rules while taking her test.

IAAF ruled that Ayhan had not taken performance-enhancing drugs, but said the athlete had broken testing rules, and she was banned for two years.

Her second offense was in November 2007, where she failed the tests while she was training in the United States and banned from professional sports for lifetime by Türkiye Atletizm Federasyonu.

But, Süreyya Ayhan took the banning to the court, and The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected her appeal Wednesday against a four-year ban imposed by Turkish authorities.

The governing body of athletics, the IAAF, also appealed and asked the court to ban the 31-year-old for life.