29 Jul 10 Nigerian athletes declared ineligible to compete in Tokyo
Ten of the country’s athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics have been declared ineligible to compete at the Games.
A statement from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), an independent body created by World Athletics to manage all integrity issues – both doping and non-doping – revealed that a total of 18 athletes have been declared ineligible.
The statement said Nigeria is the most affected country, not meeting the minimum testing requirements under Rule 15 for 10 athletes.
The AIU explained that under the framework of Rule 15 governing National Federation Anti-Doping Obligations, which came into force in January 2019, National Federations are accountable for ensuring appropriate anti-doping measures are in place in their respective jurisdictions.
Among other things, the rule sets out minimum requirements for testing for the national teams of ‘Category A’ federations deemed to have the highest doping risk and considered as a threat to the overall integrity of the sport.
The key requirement in Rule 15 is that an athlete from a ‘Category A’ country must undergo at least three no-notice out-of-competition tests (urine and blood) conducted no less than three weeks apart in the 10 months leading up to a major event.
Efforts to speak with Nigerian officials after the news broke out yesterday were unsuccessful because of the time difference between Nigeria and Japan.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.