US sprinter gets 18-month ban for missing dope tests

By Emre Asikci

ANKARA (AA) - US Olympic sprinter Deajah Stevens got 18-month ban for missing doping tests, said Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) on Thursday.

"The @WorldAthletics Disciplinary Tribunal has banned sprinter Deajah Stevens of the USA for 18-months for whereabouts failures, a violation of the World Athletics," AIU wrote on Twitter.

The 25-year old will be ineligible for next year's Tokyo Olympics because her ban was backdated to begin on Feb. 17 of this year, according to multiple reports. It will expire by Aug. 16 midnight next year, days after the Tokyo games conclude.

Stevens finished seventh in the women's 200-meter final at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil.