The two-time Olympian who participated in the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo tested positive for testosterone in two separate samples.
2018 Commonwealth 10,000m bronze medalist Mercileen Chelangat has been banned for five years by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for using testosterone.
The 28-year-old, who represented Uganda at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, received the ban after several samples tested positive for a banned substance.
Chelangat first provided an out-of-competition urine sample in Kapchorwa on August 13 and then gave a urine sample on September 14 in Tokyo, shortly after he finished 49th in the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in 2:45:36.
Both samples showed the presence of testosterone metabolites and androsterone, both of which are steroid hormones and are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The AIU then launched an investigation and first found that Chelangat did not have a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) to explain any of the samples.
Chelangat, when asked about the adverse findings, said “he was injured in 2023 and as a result was using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and other painkillers every day for almost two years before the Tokyo World Championships.”
The Ugandan added that “he was treated for pneumonia in August 2025 at a clinic in Uganda and received several unspecified injections.” However, Chelangat accepted the negative finding of the second sample (Toky0) but insisted that “he did not deliberately use any banned substance”.
When asked by the AIU to substantiate the claims, Chelangat provided a list of supplements, clinical notes and photos of some of the supplements being used, but the AIU noted that “none of the drugs or supplements in question contain testosterone or testosterone precursors.”
On New Year’s Eve, Chelangat signed a form to acknowledge the anti-doping rule violations and accept the consequences.
The distance runner, who first came to prominence after securing a bronze medal at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, received a six-year ban from AIU, reduced by one year for early admission.
Chelangat’s results for 13 August 2025 (including 49th place in the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo) were disqualified.
