Spanish hobby jogger suspended for doping

A recreational runner from Spain with a marathon best of three hours has found herself facing a doping suspension for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

On Wednesday, Patri (Patricia) Álvarez of Oviedo, Spain, was handed a provisional suspension by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) after testing positive for the banned diuretic furosemide following a 34-km trail race in October.

The AIU has provisionally suspended Patricia Alvarez (Spain) for the Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Furosemide)

Details here: https://t.co/Y8LF9j2VYN pic.twitter.com/e9bHqVrLro

— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) December 10, 2025

Álvarez placed 29th out of 61 participants, but third woman, making her eligible for prize money–and an anti-doping test. Furosemide is typically used as a masking agent to hide the presence of other prohibited substances. It has been listed as a banned substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) since 2004.

The 27-year-old is a recreational trail runner and marathoner who competes for the Asturian Club of Mountain Runners in her hometown. Earlier this year, she also ran a half-marathon personal best of 1:21:20, at the Azkoitia-Azpeitia Media Marathon.

This isn’t the first case of a non-elite athlete being sanctioned for doping. In 2023, Italian runner Alessandro Braconi received a 36-year ban for the use, attempted use, possession and trafficking of prohibited substances after a local half-marathon in Stresa, Italy. There is also the case of Croatian marathoner Andrej Hladnik, who tested positive at the Zagreb Marathon in late 2024 after finishing in second place, running a giant PB of 2:27.

The length of Álvarez’s ban has not been announced.