Randolph Ross has been hit with a three-year ban for three whereabouts failures in as many months ©Getty Images

American sprinter Randolph Ross has been hit with a three-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for three whereabouts failures in the space of as many months.

Ross, who ran for the United States in the heats of the 4x400 metres relay at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, did not feature in the quartet that went on to win gold in the final, and has had his results since June 18 2022 disqualified.

After being invited to explain his whereabouts failures, Ross produced what was subsequently found to be a fake or “system generated e-mail” related to his whereabouts information for the appropriate period.

Randolph Ross featured as part of the United States 4x400 metres relay team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, running in the heats but not the final ©Getty Images
Randolph Ross featured as part of the United States 4x400 metres relay team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, running in the heats but not the final ©Getty Images

In an interview with investigators in July Ross admitted altering the “system generated e-mail” during the results management process for the third potential whereabouts failure, which constituted a tampering violation under World Athletics anti-doping rules.

Ross was handed a provisional suspension on the eve of the World Athletics Championships, held in Eugene in the United States in July.

This has now been upgraded to a full three-year ban running from July 1 2022 through until June 30 2025.