Austrian professional triathlete Thomas Steger, who last raced at Challenge Almere in September 2022, has received a one-year ban for a doping violation.

Steger, who finished on the podium at Challenge “The Championship” last year in Samorin and has been on a number of middle-distance podiums in his career, released a statement after the ban was announced by the Austrian Anti-Doping Agency.

Steger, who maintains his innocence, will be allowed to compete again from October 6, 2023. He is currently ranked PTO World #263.

Banned for possession of a prohibited substance

In the announcement made by the Austrian Anti-Doping Agency, the organisation said it had been informed of Steger’s ban, which came as a result of a violation of Article 2.6 of the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) code.

“NADA Austria was informed that Thomas Steger (Triathlon) was banned for 1 year due to a violation of the anti-doping regulations (Article 2.6 – Possession of a prohibited substance). The ban begins on October 7th, 2022 and ends on October 6th, 2023.”

Steger has maintained he is innocent in a strongly-worded statement on Instagram – which you can read in full here.