French hurdler Cyrena Samba-Mayela has been given a temporary suspension for not disclosing her whereabouts to anti-doping officials. Samba-Mayela won silver in the 100m hurdles at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The 25-year-old's suspension was confirmed by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) on Friday. The sanction was imposed on Samba-Mayela on September 18, and could result in a two-year ban. She withdrew from August's European Championships because of injury. A representative for Samba-Mayela told French news agency AFP that the athlete had never returned a positive result on an anti-doping test, and that the investigation is solely focused on the whereabouts breach.

The representative added: "The procedure mentioned is ongoing before the AIU and concerns exclusively administrative whereabouts requirements, and not the use of any substance whatsoever." "She [Samba-Maylea] continues to respond within the allotted timeframes and to co-operate fully." Elite athletes are required to inform anti-doping officials about their locations, for example if they are attending a training camp away from home or if they are travelling. These locations are used in order to comply with the rules for random doping tests. Three failures within a year, such as a missed test or inaccurate information given to the anti-doping officials, can result in punishment.