ROME (AP) — Italian long-distance runner Devis Licciardi has been banned for three years for cheating a drug test.
The Italian Olympic Committee anti-doping court issued the verdict Thursday after Licciardi was discovered trying to siphon off clean urine hidden in a prosthetic during a doping exam at the national 10-kilometer championship in Molfetta on Sept. 21.
The anti-doping prosecutor was seeking only a 212-year ban.
The court also banned Sara Malpetti, Licciardi’s girlfriend, who allegedly helped him, for 312 years from all sports events in Italy.
Licciardi runs for the Italian Air Force team.
