Ten Nigerian athletes have been disqualified from participating in the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
This was contained in a statement released by the Athletics Integrity Unit on Wednesday.
The statement read in part, “Nigeria is the most affected country, not meeting the minimum testing requirements under Rule 15 for 10 athletes.
“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 on 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 3 weeks apart in the 10 months leading up to a major event. Only then do they become eligible to represent their national team at the World Athletics Championships or the Olympic Games.”
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is the independent body created by the World Athletics that manages all integrity issues – both doping and non-doping – for the sport of athletics.
Details later…
