Austrian marathoner Gradwohl announces retirement

Austrian marathon runner Eva-Maria Gradwohl, who refused to take a doping test last Wednesday, announced retirement on Tuesday when she was on holiday in Croatia.

The 37-year-old Gradwohl wrote on her homepage that she was "tired of reporting every day where I am and what I do, and wait one hour every day to see whether I will take a doping test or not."

"We have taken proceedings against Gradwohl, because refusing of taking a doping test is considered as positive doping test," said the chief of Austrian Anti-doping Officials (NADA) Andreas Schwab.

Since her relationship with former skiing coach Walter Mayer, who was involved in the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics doping scandal, Gradwohl has been asked for a doping test several times but never been tested to be positive.

Gradwohl has won the Linz-Marathon in 2 hours, 34 minutes, 10 seconds on 11 April this year and is qualified for the European Championships in Barcelona.

Source:Xinhua