Danish age group athlete Thomas Lawaetz tested positive for EPO at the 2015 KMD IRONMAN Copenhagen and has received a 48-month sanction according to a press release by WTC. The release further stated that Mr. Lawaetz’s results from that competition were disqualified and he was declared ineligible to compete at the 2015 IRONMAN World Championship presented by GoPro.

Thomas Lawaetz was on the 2015 GoPro IRONMAN Kona start list with bib #1658. But he did not race because of a flu, according to a Facebook post from that time, and spent time with his family instead.

The increased age group testing that was noticed around the globe this year appears to be bearing fruit.

“Our partnership with Anti-Doping Denmark is exactly the kind of collaboration that is necessary among anti-doping organizations if we are going to be effective in detecting and ultimately deterring doping in our sport,” said Kate Mittelstadt, the Director of the IRONMAN Anti-Doping Program. “There is shared intelligence, effective coordination and a commitment to working effectively and efficiently to combat doping and protect the rights of clean athletes at every level.”

He and his 3 brothers were first noticed in 2013 when all 4 of them qualified for the IRONMAN World Championships that year, and the fast brothers from Denmark also became a popular topic in our forum. But to be very clear here, only the oldest brother Thomas Lawaetz has been implicated and penalized in this doping case.

Just about the same time when Ironman announced the 48-month ban, Lawaetz made a statement on his Facebook page.

“It will soon be announced, that I have taken EPO in connection with my last IM. I would in this context like to emphasize that no one has pushed me to it, it was something I did alone and I take the full responsibility. Triathlon has filled too much for me through a period and I've long been thinking about putting an end to it. Unfortunately I let myself to be tempted, and I fell in... I regret incredibly to those in my social circle who might be adversely affected by this, as well as the clean competitors I won against. Triathlon will be a closed chapter for me by the end of this year and I will concentrate on my family, career and friends.”

The first image is a stock picture and not one of Thomas Lawaetz