Ten Nigerian athletes have been ruled ineligible to
participate at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan by the AthleticsIntegrity Unit (AIU), dampening the country’s hope for a successful
competition.
The
athletes were ruled ineligible due to failure to meet the minimum testing
requirements under Rule 15 of the Anti-Doping Rules for ‘Category A’
federations.
‘Category A’
federations are those that are deemed to have the highest doping risk and
considered as a threat to the overall integrity of the sport.
This was
revealed in a statement released by the AIU, an independent Athletic body
charged with managing all issues of integrity, including doping and non-doping
cases.
The AIU
revealed that a total number of 18 athletes were ruled ineligible to compete at
the Tokyo Olympics, with Nigeria accounting for the majority, with 10 athletes.
The names of the athletes were not released in the
statement.
A
major requirement of 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.”
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