Grandma's Marathon winner disqualified after drug test

(AP) - Halina Karnatsevich, 36, of Belarus, tested positive for a banned substance, marathon organizers said in a news release Thursday. The International Association of Athletics Federations Web site indicated the substance was stanozolol.

Karnatsevich received a two-year ban from competition and will not receive the $8,000 prize for winning the Duluth race. The new winner is Svetlana Nekhorosh, 32, of Ukraine, with a time of 2:37:33.

Scott Keenan, executive director of Grandma's Marathon, said it was the fourth time USA Track and Field had selected the race for drug testing. It was the first time an athlete tested positive.

Keenan said Karnatsevich's prize money was withheld after she failed a preliminary test after the race. All the other top finishers who were tested passed the first round of testing and have received their prize money, he said.

Keenan said race organizers will continue to encourage USA Track and Field to include Grandma's Marathon on its schedule for drug testing in the future.

"Our attitude is very simple," he said. "We encourage drug testing. We want the sport to be as clean as possible."

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)