A doping scandal has rocked the world of race strolling. On Friday, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) introduced a four-year ban for Japanese racewalker Koki Ikeda, a former world #1 and Olympic silver medallist.
A Disciplinary Tribunal has banned Koki Ikeda (Japan) for 4 years, from 1 November 2024, for the Use of a Prohibited Substance/Technique (ABP case). DQ outcomes since 20 June 2023.
Particulars right here:https://t.co/ILosOkplR4https://t.co/1XtB0nT3ws pic.twitter.com/gLJLivHaPN
— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) February 14, 2025
In accordance with the AIU report, the 26-year-old was discovered responsible of violating Rule 2.2 of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Guidelines, which prohibits the use or tried use of a banned substance or technique. The AIU flagged abnormalities in his Athlete Organic Passport (ABP), a system that tracks organic markers over time to detect potential doping violations. Three blood samples have been reportedly taken from Ikeda in June, August and September of 2023, exhibiting indicators of blood manipulation. Ikeda positioned fifteenth on the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Aug. 2023, and seventh on the 2024 Paris Olympics within the males’s 20km race stroll occasion, two locations behind Canada’s Evan Dunfee.
Ikeda captured silver within the 20km race stroll on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and repeated the feat on the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Ore. The AIU says all his outcomes from June 2023 onward shall be disqualified. The ban will take him away from the game till Nov. 1, 2028, and make him ineligible to compete on the L.A. Olympic Video games.
The ABP tracks organic markers over time to detect doping not directly, enabling the AIU to observe particular person profiles and flag irregularities which will point out performance-enhancing drug use. The AIU’s ABP system has caught a number of high-profile athletes this 12 months, together with 2023 Tokyo Marathon runner-up Ethiopia Tsehay Gemechu and former 10K world report holder Rhonex Kipruto of Kenya.