Luguelin Santos (Credit: Twitter)
Santos, who is also a two-time Youth Olympic champion, went on to win a silver medal in the 400m at the 2012 London Olympics.
Dominican sprinter Luguelin Santos has been stripped of his World Junior Championships gold medal and banned for three years for age manipulation violations, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Friday.
Santos, now 31, won 400 meters gold at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona.
In a statement, the AIU said Santos had “admitted to competing in the 2012 age-group championships with a passport showing a falsified date of birth – Nov. 12, 1993 – when in fact he was born on that date in 1992.
“Thus, he was ineligible to participate in the World Juniors 2012 which, based on the 2012 Competition Rules, required junior athletes to be aged 18 or 19 on Dec. 31 of the competition year.”
The AIU has banned Luguelin Miguel Santos Aquino (Dominican Republic) for 3 years, from 11 March 2023 to 10 March 2026, for violating Rules 141 (Age categories), 9.6 (Corrupt Practices) and 9.10(c) (Failure to report) of the IAAF Competition Rules 2012-2013 (…) pic.twitter.com/rSxaW4xknU— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) December 1, 2023
The AIU flagged the discrepancy, and when it confronted Santos, he told the organization that, “on instructions, he had obtained a ‘special passport’ issued by the Dominican authorities, which gave his date of birth as being November 12, 1993.” He also told the AIU that he was told to use the “special passport” for competitions but his genuine passport, which had 1992 as his birth year, for all other official purposes.
Officials have not yet said if American Arman Hall, who earned a silver medal behind Santos, will be upgraded to champion.
Santos’ three-year period of ineligibility runs from March 11, 2023, to March 10, 2026. The AIU stated its concern over the prevalence of age manipulation, citing its impact on the integrity of junior athletics competitions.
Santos, who is also a two-time Youth Olympic champion, went on to win a silver medal in the 400m at the 2012 London Olympics.
Santos has had a stellar professional career in track and field, winning three global medals in the 400m, including two Olympic silvers. He also won the men’s 400m at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.
“Unlike with sanctions for doping violations … there is no basis on which to annul his Olympic result as that was not an age-group event and no violation was committed there,” said Brett Clothier, Head of the AIU.
(with inputs from agencies)
