FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Athletics - Women's Shot Put Final - Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - August 09, 2024. Raven Saunders of United States during the Women's Shot Put Final REUTERS/Alina Smutko/File Photo
(Reuters) -Olympic shot put silver medallist Raven Saunders has accepted a 30-month suspension for whereabouts failures, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old, who won silver in Tokyo in 2021, had previously received an 18-month suspension for whereabouts failures in 2023.
"Because this is Saunders's second rule violation, she is subject to an increased sanction based on her degree of fault and the totality of the circumstances," USADA said in a statement.
"USADA determined that an increased 30-month period of ineligibility was appropriate based on the circumstances of the case. Saunders’s 30-month period of ineligibility began on December 26, 2024."
Saunders last competed at a Diamond League meet in Lausanne in August last year, days after finishing 11th of 12 athletes in the women's shot put final at the Paris Olympics.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
