Runner's & Triathlete's Web  (RRW) Athletics: 2009 African Junior Champion Aman Disqualifed for Being Under Age

(18-Jan) -- The 2009 African Junior Championships gold medalist at 800m, Mohamed Aman Geleto of Ethiopia, has been stripped of his medal by the IAAF for being too young to compete in those championships.

According to a statement from former IAAF General Secretary Pierre Weiss dated 27 November, 2011, which was circulated by BBC statistician Mark Butler, an investigation determined that Aman was born 10 January 1994, making him 15 years-old when he won his gold medal in Bambous, Mauritius, on 2 August, 2009. In global junior championships, athletes must be at least 16 years of age by the end of the year during which the competition was held. Aman did not turn 16 until ten days after that year had ended.

The new gold medalist is Kenya's Nickson Tuwei, who clocked 1:48.91 to Aman's 1:48.82. The silver goes to Kenya's David Mutinda (1:49.82) and the bronze to South Africa's William Mothosola, who ran 1:51.44.