Tokyo Marathon winner Endeshaw Negesse has reportedly failed a doping test and has been named as one of a number of Ethiopian athletes under investigation for infringements of the banned substance list, insidethegames.biz reported Wednesday.
The 27-year-old was allegedly found to have the drug meldonium in his system. The drug, which is also known as mildronate, is used to treat ischemia, a restriction in blood supply to muscles. The World Anti-Doping Agency says it has added meldonium to its banned substance list because there is evidence of it being used "by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance."
Negesse won the 2015 Tokyo Marathon in 2 hours and 6 minutes, leading home 2012 London Olympic gold medalist Stephen Kiprotich, and has a personal best of 2:04:52 set in Dubai in 2013.