LONDON • Gamze Bulut, who won the 1,500m silver at the 2012 London Olympics, is the fifth athlete from that final to have been investigated for doping, according to reports in Turkey.
The 23-year-old has reportedly been asked to explain abnormalities detected in her athlete biological passport.
Bulut was set to be promoted to the gold-medal spot after her Turkish compatriot Asli Cakir Alptekin gave up her title last August to serve a possible career-ending suspension for blood doping.
Two other athletes from that final, the Russians Ekaterina Kostetskaya and Natallia Kareiva, who finished seventh and ninth respectively, have already been banned.
Last week, Swedish athlete Abeba Aregawi, who was fifth, voluntarily agreed to a suspension after testing positive for a banned drug in Addis Ababa in January.
Two other athletes from the 1,500m heats have also been banned since the Olympics.
Another Russian, Tatyana Tomashova, could yet be elevated to bronze if Bulut is banned.
Tomashova served a two-year ban imposed in 2008 for her part in a Russian conspiracy to avoid doping detection.
When asked for more details about Bulut's situation, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said: "The IAAF is not making any comment on doping matters under investigations or under result management procedure."
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