The UCI has announced that one of Colombia's top track stars of the last decade, double World Championships silver medallist Martha Bayona, has been banned for 18 months by its Anti-Doping Tribunal after registering three failures in their whereabouts program.
Bayona now has a month to appeal against the decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the UCI confirmed in their press release, although the track star has already stated on social media that she will accept the sanction.
Bayona's suspension, which was already provisional, is now formally backdated to April 23, 2025 and will run until October 22, 2026.
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Viewed as one of Colombia's leading track stars, the 30-year-old racer has taken ten medals in the Track Nations Cup series as well as two silver medals in the Keirin at the World Championships. She also has five gold medals in the Pan American Games.
Bayona subsequently produced a lengthy post on social media in which she insisted that she had not committed any errors.
"I respect this decision, even if it's not been an easy pathway either on the sporting or personal level. I want something to be very clear, it was never my intention to avoid any controls or cheat," she said.
"During this time I've gone through one of the most difficult years I've had on a personal level: the provisional suspension, the impossibility of racing, loneliness, lack of support from the authorities.
"I also lived through the death of my father, a profoundly painful blow which has marked a before and an after in my life."
After taking a long-postponed decision – because of her career – to undergo surgery during her provisional suspension, she said that "the process has reminded me that beyond results and medals, athletes are people. We train to the limit, yes, but we are also vulnerable, we have difficulties, periods of mourning and moments of crisis. Recognising that is not a weakness, but an act of honesty. I will assume the consequences of this process [the anti-doping suspension] with respect, strength and as something educational."
This is the second anti-doping suspension received by a Colombian racer in 2026. In late January, Germán Darío Gómez, a rider with the ProTeam Polti-VisitMalta, received a provisional sanction for an alleged violation. He has insisted on his innocence.
