German runner banned for EPO doping

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - German long-distance runner Simret Restle-Apel has been banned for two years after testing positive for the blood booster EPO.

The National Anti-Doping Agency said Monday that Restle-Apel failed a drug test last May and was banned after the German sports arbitration court rejected her appeal.

The runner argued she had unwittingly taken EPO after discovering the substance in a relative's fridge and thinking it was vitamins.

NADA said Restle-Apel was exposed after a targeted test. The runner was born in Eritrea and became a naturalized German citizen in 2008. She has no international titles.