On Wednesday, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced that British marathoner Joshua Griffiths was banned for three months for the presence of benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. The sample was taken after he placed fourth at the Phoenix Energy Belfast City Marathon on May 3. Griffiths originally disputed the claim and throughout the process maintained he did not know how cocaine entered his system, but eventually accepted the charges. Following the AIU’s investigation, his Belfast results were disqualified, and he received a three-month suspension that began on June 19 and ended on Sept. 19.

Claims not denied

The 33-year-old marathoner was notified June 19 of the adverse analytical findings and quickly told the AIU the finding was “absolutely impossible, and there must have been a mistake.” Afterward, he requested a copy of the sample so his own team could review it. Griffiths requested an extension on the deadline for his explanation, but was denied. He was then interviewed by the AIU.

Accompanied by legal representatives, Griffiths attended an interview with the AIU where he said he had not deliberately ingested cocaine. He claimed that, to his knowledge, no one close to him had been using it before the event. Griffiths said he didn’t attend social events or consume alcohol before the event, and he did not recall sharing food, drink or intimate contact with others that could have resulted in the finding.

The AIU has banned Joshua Griffiths (Great Britain) for 3 months from 19 June 2026 for Presence of a Prohibited Substance (Benzoylecgonine). DQ results from 3 May 2026. Details here: https://t.co/vzJPDdCuRq https://t.co/GQ8aEzvmzL

— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) November 11, 2026

Griffiths provided no explanation for how the illegal substance was found in his system.

The defence that worked

On July 23, Griffiths asked for an extension to review another copy of his sample, which was granted. Though he maintained he had never used cocaine and attributed the positive test to inadvertent environmental contamination, he did not dispute the sample findings. The AIU only prohibits the use of cocaine in competition.

Griffiths argued that based on the low level of cocaine in the sample, the ingestion could not have occurred in competition and would not have affected his performance. He provided expert testimony to support the claim, which also stated that if he was using the drug recreationally, the findings should have been seven times higher than what was found in his sample.

The expert witness also pointed to the possibility of benzoylecgonine being found after ingesting low levels of cocaine in coca-tea, which were consistent with the samples taken from Griffiths.

Enough for the AIU

Despite Griffiths not being able to provide a reason for his sample, the AIU determined that the concentration of cocaine found was likely due to exposure to cocaine out-of-competition.

Since the AIU found that the substance ingestion was not related to the sport, and cocaine is only prohibited in competition, the sentence was reduced. Griffiths admitted to the anti-doping rule violation, and because it was his first offence, he was only given a three-month ban.