Bulgaria’s Stela Eneva has been stripped of her world title and will miss Rio 2016 after she was banned for doping ©Getty Images

Bulgaria’s Stela Eneva has been stripped of her International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships F57 shot put gold medal and ruled out of Rio 2016 after she was given a four-year ban for doping.

Eneva, winner of the world title in Doha last October with a world record throw of 11.14 metres, tested positive for prohibited substance Oxandrolone, an anabolic steroid, after she had clinched the gold medal in the event.

The 40-year-old, considered one of Bulgaria’s most high-profile Paralympic athletes, will also lose the World Championships discus silver medal she claimed in the Qatari capital last year.

She has been banned from December 4, 2015 and her suspension will conclude on December 3, 2019.

As a result of her ban, Mexico’s Angles Ortiz Hernandez will be upgraded to the World Championships gold medal after she finished second behind Eneva in the shot put competition in Doha.

Silver will now go to Germany’s Ilke Wyludda and Algeria’s Nassima Saifi will receive the bronze medal.

Wyludda was the Olympic discus champion in 1996 but had her leg amputated in January 2011 due to Sepsis.

She later returned to action in the Paralympics and at London 2012 became the first athlete to represent Germany in both the Olympics and Paralympics. 

In the discus event, Orla Barry will be elevated to the silver medal, with bronze going to Safia Djelal of Algeria.

Stela Eneva won Paralympic silver medals at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 ©Getty Images
Stela Eneva won Paralympic silver medals at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 ©Getty Images

The news will come as a blow to the Bulgarian team as Eneva represented one of her nation’s best chances of a medal at this year's Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. 

“As a signatory of the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC), the IPC remains committed to a doping free sporting environment at all levels,” an IPC statement read.

“The IPC, together with the International Federations and the National Paralympic Committees, established the IPC Anti-Doping Code to prevent doping in sport for Para athletes, in the spirit of fair play.

“The IPC Anti-Doping Code is in conformity with the general principles of the WADC.”

The development follows the Bulgarian Olympic weightlifting team being banned from this year’s Games in the Brazilian city by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

The IWF ruled in November that the country could not compete at Rio 2016 due to 11 positive doping cases during the qualification period, a decision exclusively revealed by insidethegames.

That prompted the Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation to appeal to the CAS, but it has today been announced that their case has been rejected.