By Duncan Mackay

Susanne Pumper head and shoulderApril 29 - Susanne Pumper, Austria's most successful female long-distance runner, has been suspended for eight years after being found to have been involved with drugs for a second time. 


As part of the punishment, all of Pumper's results since 2008 have been annulled, including the Austrian marathon titles she won in 2010 and 2011. 

Austria's National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) revealed that Pumper had been found guilty of acquiring the illegal performance-enhancing substance Erythropoietin (EPO) in late 2008.

At the time, Pumper was serving a two-year ban after testing positive for the same drug following a half-marathon in Vienna in March that year.

The 42-year-old Pumper had won a silver medalist in the 3,000m at the 2005 European Indoor Championships, but that result is not affected. 

Susanne Pumpier runningSusanne Pumper has been banned for eight years after committing a second doping offence

Pumper, who holds the Austrian records for 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m and represented the country at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney,  can appeal against the ban, which is retroactive to the date of the first hearing in March last year.

NADA says the suspension disallows Pumper to take part in any competition as an athlete, coach or official until March 5, 2020.

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