The Georgia Bulldogs charged to victory at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships in March, driven by freshman Adaejah Hodge’s stunning 200m gold medal performance. Her dominance helped fuel the team title, but the glow faded fast when reports surfaced of her prior, undisclosed doping ban under Athletics Integrity Unit oversight. Now, weeks later, the AIU has finally addressed the swirling questions.

Days after the announcement, questions lingered over the AIU’s uncharacteristic silence on Hodge’s provisional suspension. That’s because while Rule 14.3 of the WADA Code asserts that anti-doping organizations don’t have to announce provisional suspensions, the AIU has consistently announced them. That changed with Hodge, although the anti-doping body has since revealed exactly why they did that.

“The AIU’s policy is to announce provisional suspensions and sanctions as soon as possible,” the AIU said in a statement, as per LetsRun.com. “Indeed, since its inception in 2017, the AIU has implemented the ground-breaking policy of Public Disclosures regarding all disciplinary matters.

“There are, however, some exceptions to this rule – where Public Disclosure may be delayed – and one of these was the Adaejah Hodge case in which the athlete provided Substantial Assistance to an important ongoing investigation. Announcing her case earlier could have jeopardized the other investigation.

The statement added, “The timing of the AIU’s announcement related solely to this case and the related investigation – nothing else.”

As per the initial statement, Adaejah Hodge was suspended after the AIU detected GW501516 sulfone and GW501516 sulfoxide, also known as Cardarine, a banned substance. The now 20-year-old served a two-year doping ban from August 2024, although the AIU attested that the doping violation was not intentional.

Not only that, but Hodge was also stripped of the two titles she won during her high-school career, which include her World Junior Championships U20 gold medal in the 200m and silver in the 100m from 2024.

And because Hodge had cooperated with the AIU, they suspended seven months from that sentence, allowing the sprinter to return to the track in January 2026. Since then, she won the women’s 200m in the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championship and the 400m in her outdoor debut, breaking records along the way.

However, she becomes the third Montverde Academy track and field athlete to test positive for the same substance, after Issam Asinga and another athlete, whom TVJ reports as Skyler Franklin.

AIU Action on Gerald Phiri Ahead of Hodge Reveal

Those three positive tests have since led the AIU back to Montverde Academy and former head coach Gerald Phiri. A two-time Olympic sprinter, the AIU provisionally suspended Phiri in March 2025 for multiple anti-doping rule violations.

As per the statement, Phiri allegedly committed three violations, including possession of a banned substance as an athlete (2018 and 2019), as well as possession of a banned substance as an “Athlete Support Person” in 2024.

His suspension came on the back of a joint investigation by the AIU and the USADA, which only kicked off after Hodge, Asinga, and a third unnamed athlete coached by the former Zambian sprinter tested positive. Issam Asinga, one of the aforementioned three, received a four-year suspension in 2024 after testing positive for Cardarine, a banned substance.

That is the same substance Adaejah Hodge also tested positive for, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed Asinga’s appeals in late 2025 and upheld his suspension until 2028. The other alleged athlete is Skyler Franklin, as per TVJ, who ran 51.01 to move to fifth all-time US high school girls in the 400m in 2024.

As per the report, WADA has filed an appeal with the CAS to challenge a ruling made by Jamaica’s Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel against the sprinter.

This comes after a positive test for the same banned substance as Hodge and Asinga in 2024 during the JAAA National Junior and Senior Championships.

However, the AIU’s latest statement to LetsRun.com offers no details on any ongoing investigation. Phiri remains provisionally suspended, and the Washington Post reports that he plans to appeal the decision.