BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian hammer thrower Krisztian Pars, the 2012 Olympic champion, has been banned until July 2019 because of a doping violation.
According to the Hungarian Athletics Federation, a non-performance-enhancing substance was detected in a urine sample taken Jan. 13 in his home city of Szombathely.
The 36-year-old Pars said Tuesday that he is “indescribably ashamed” about the incident, blaming it on “a bad decision made during a very difficult time in my career and life.”
Pars, a four-time Olympian, was seventh in Rio and 14th at the 2017 World Championships.
Officials accepted his argument that the banned substance got into his body during the offseason and that it does not have a positive effect on sporting performance.
The federation’s secretary general Marton Gyulai called it “a sad day for Hungarian athletics.”
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