Egyptian powerlifter Rehab Abougharbya has been banned for 20 years after testing positive for anabolic steroids ©IPC

Egyptian powerlifter Rehab Abougharbya has been banned for 20 months by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) after testing positive for anabolic steroid oxandrolone, it has been announced. 

But she escaped a longer suspension because she had been prescribed the medicine containing the prohibited substance by a doctor before she started competing internationally. 

Abougharbya tested positive after a sample provided during the World Para Powerlifting World Cup in Eger in Hungary on May 6 this year after winning the 73 kilograms at the event. 

She has been stripped of her gold medal.

Moldova’s Larisa Marinekova has now been promoted to first place, while the silver and bronze medals will be reallocated to Poland’s Beata Jankowska and Brazil’s Amanda De Sousa respectively.

Abougharbya will be ineligible for competition for 20 months from June 12, the date of the provisional suspension, until February 12 in 2019.

Under the World Anti-Dopng Code, she could have received a ban of up to four years. 

Powerlifter Rehab Abougharbya avoided a four-year suspension after testing positive for an anabolic steroid because, among other things, poor anti-doping education from the Egyptian Paralympic Committee ©Facebook
Powerlifter Rehab Abougharbya avoided a four-year suspension after testing positive for an anabolic steroid because, among other things, poor anti-doping education from the Egyptian Paralympic Committee ©Facebook

"She received a reduced sentence due to the circumstances of the case," a spokesman for the IPC told insidethegames. 

"The hearing panel was satisified that the medication containing the prohibited substance had been prescribed to her by a doctor before becoming an athlete and prior to international competition.  

"She stopped treatment as soon as being notified of the adverse analytical finding.

"This, combined with poor anti-doping education from her National Paralympic Committee, meant the panel found grounds for considering a reduction of the sanction based on no significant fault or negligence."

Powerlifting has been overshadowed by a series of positive drugs tests involving its leading performances. 

"The IPC would like to remind all athletes about the risks associated with using supplements, and that the principle of strict liability applies to anti-doping matters," the IPC said in a statement.

"Therefore, each athlete is strictly liable for the substances found in his or her sample, and that an anti-doping rule violation occurs whenever a prohibited substance (or its metabolites or markers) is found in his or her bodily specimen, whether or not the athlete intentionally or unintentionally used a prohibited substance or was negligent or otherwise at fault."