ROME (AP) Italian long-distance runner Devis Licciardi has been banned for three years for cheating a drugs test.
The Italian Olympic Committee anti-doping court issued the verdict on Thursday after Licciardi was discovered trying to siphon off clean urine hidden in a prosthetic during a doping exam at the national 10-kilometer championship in Molfetta on Sept. 21.
The anti-doping prosecutor was seeking only a 2 1/2-year ban.
The court also banned Sara Malpetti, Licciardi's girlfriend, who allegedly helped him, for 3 1/2 years from all sports events in Italy.
Licciardi runs for the Italian Air Force team.
