( CNN ) -- Portuguese distance runner Helder Ornelas has been handed a four-year ban after becoming the first athlete to fall foul of the IAAF 's Biological Passport program . After abnormalities in his `` blood profile '' were flagged up in May 2011 , the world governing body went back to scrutinize a series of blood test results for the 38-year-old between December 2009 and November 2010 . Three experts in the field of haematology concluded Ornelas had used a prohibited substance or a prohibited method and the IAAF referred the case to the Portuguese Athletic Federation for adjudication . Citing `` aggravating circumstances '' the IAAF sought an increased four-year sanction despite it being a Ornelas ' first doping offense . Ornelas , who won the Milan Marathon in 2005 and finished eighth in the long race at the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships , did not exercise his right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport . IAAF President Lamine Diack said : `` Those who try to cheat within the athletics community should be warned that the Athlete Biological Passport is not merely a concept but rather an efficient method to identify , target and catch those who believe that doping is the only route to success . `` Cheaters should also be aware that , if they are caught , the IAAF will seek an increased four-year sanction whenever the circumstances so justify , '' he added in a statement released Wednesday .
Portuguese athlete Helder Ornelas gets four-year ban . Ornelas first to be sanctioned under IAAF Athlete Biological Passport program . Abnormalities in his blood profile were detected over a period of a year . Comment: