Polish Marathoner Disqualified, Faces Lifetime Ban

Polish distance runner Antoni Niemczak has been disqualified from his second-place finish in the New York Marathon and faces a lifetime ban from international competition for twice testing positive for a banned substance, The Athletics Congress said Wednesday.

TAC did not name the substance, saying only that it had been banned by the International Amateur Athletic Federation, the world governing body for track and field.

The Times learned Tuesday that traces of Nandrolin injectable, an anabolic steroid, was found in Niemczak’s urine.

The Polish runner denied that he has ever used steroids or any other kind of drug.

TAC, which conducts tests at the New York Marathon, said a urine sample taken from Niemczak on the day of the marathon, Nov. 2, tested positive in a Los Angeles laboratory. A second test conducted Tuesday at the same laboratory also proved positive, TAC said in a statement.