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Ugandan middle distance runner Docus Ajok dreamed of being an Olympic champion.

She had been competing professionally since 2014, representing her country proudly at the Commonwealth Games, World Athletics Championships and World University Games.

In 2019, she said she was asked to take a testosterone test by her national federation, under the directive of world track and field governing body World Athletics (WA). It seemed as routine as anything else in her career to date, but that was to be the end of everything she had known professionally.

Soon after, Ajok said she was told by national governing body Uganda Athletics that she was no longer allowed to compete in 800m and 1,500m races, citing directives from WA.

She told CNN Sports she was never shown the results of the test, but barred from competing, her dreams lay in tatters.

Ugandan middle distance runner Docus Ajok pictured with a bronze medal in the Women's 800m at the Summer FISU World University Games on July 10, 2019 in Naples, Italy. Ivan Romano/Getty Images

Ajok said that after the test, she was restricted from competing. “They started coming out with rules, regulations proposing medical steps,” she added.

“I used to help my family with the medical bills, school fees, with my siblings, and many other things, even things for myself. (Now) we’re not even getting anything. We have just been struggling with life.”

Ajok’s story is similar to that of Kenyan sprinter Maximila Imali, who showed great promise in track and field and qualified for the 800 meters at the world junior athletics championships, excelling in her heats but falling in the finals. Determined to improve, she had her sights set on more competitions.

But in 2014, all that came crashing to a halt when she says she was told by an official from Athletics Kenya to take a blood test and undergo a physical examination, per a request by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), now known as WA.

Maximila Imali of Kenya competes in during the Women's 400m semifinals at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Several months after those tests, her manager told her in a phone call that she would not be allowed to compete in the 800m category, citing high testosterone levels found in her blood.