US sprinter Randolph Ross banned 3 years after fake email

Randolph Ross, of United States, starts a heat in the men's 400-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics, on Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo. [AP]

United States sprinter Randolph Ross has been banned for three years for whereabouts failures and faking an email to anti-doping authorities.

The Athletics Integrity Unit announced Tuesday that the back-to-back NCAA champion from North Carolina A&T will be suspended until June 30, 2025, meaning he'll be ineligible for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Ross had been provisionally suspended on the eve of his 400-meter preliminary race at the world track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon, on July 16, about a month after officials could not locate him to take a doping test - his third whereabouts failure in a 12-month period.

Ross had provided a copy of an automatic email "allegedly confirming an update made to his whereabouts information for the relevant period," the AIU said.

The sprinter "immediately admitted" that he had altered the email when he was questioned by the AIU representatives, the unit said.

Ross won his second straight title in the 400 meters at NCAA championships in June.

Ross won an Olympic gold medal as part of the 4x400m squad at the Tokyo Games in 2021, though he didn't compete in the final. In the 400, he was eliminated in the heats in Tokyo.