2 min readItalian endurance athlete Alessandro Braconi received a 36-year competition ban from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). The AIU listed Braconi on its December 2022 list of sanctions and violations for the use, possession, and trafficking of a prohibited substance.
The 36-year-old runner from Pallanza, Italy won’t be able to race until 2058—one of the longest non-lifetime bans in athletics history. Only one athlete on the AIU database holds a longer non-lifetime suspension: road-running athlete Roberto Barbi of Italy, who received a 38-year ban in 2008.
Braconi was provisionally suspended in 2022 for a positive drug test, which resulted in an initial 12-year ban from the AIU. Doping is considered a federal offense in Italy, so the Italian Athletics Federation (FIDAL) tacked on an additional 24 years.
Typically, anti-doping agencies focus their scrutiny on elite and professional athletes. In recent years, the respective Alberto Salazar and Shelby Houlihan cases have made headlines in the U.S. Why Braconi, whose fastest marathon on Strava is just 2:59:01, would use or traffic prohibited substances is unknown. The AIU did not report the substance he used.
“It is the Athletics Integrity Unit’s role to drive cheats out of our sport, and to do everything within its power to support honest athletes around the world who dedicate their lives to reaching their sporting goals through dedication and hard work,” reads the AIU mission statement. The organization tested 7,108 samples from 2,229 athletes in 2021, the most recent data available on its website. The AIU reported that 17 athletes, including Braconi, tested positive in 2022.
Chris Hatler is the Deputy Editor of Esquire. He previously served as the Senior Editor of Men’s Journal and Features Editor of Popular Mechanics.
