Five athletes banned from Tokyo Olympics for doping

These players will not take part in the upcoming quadrennial event.

The Tokyo Olympics is the biggest sporting event in the world in 2021. Victory at this quadrennial stage will be synonymous with the status of a legend. A lot of athletes push themselves in the bid to claim that elusive Gold medal. Sometimes, this comes at severe risk to their body. Therefore, a lot of rules and regulations are in place to prevent any unchecked attribute boosts.

Occasionally, a few athletes tend to stray the line in their bid for glory. Proper punishment is given to athletes who fail to adhere to the rules and regulations. These usually come in the form of bans or expulsions.

We take a look at five such athletes who have been banned from competing at the Tokyo Olympics:

5. Salwa Eid Naser (Bahrain)

World champion Salwa Eid Naser will be one of the big names missing from the Tokyo Olympics contingent from Bahrain. The Nigerian-born Naser got sanctioned after missing out-of-competition tests. She missed four anti-doping tests between 1 January 2019 and 24 January 2020.

The authorities found her guilty of three of the four whereabouts failures. Hence, Naser was sanctioned with a period of ineligibility of two years. The World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal had decided to dismiss the charges in October 2020, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal against the decision.

The ineligibility period runs through the upcoming Tokyo Olympics as well as the 2022 World Championships in Oregon. The 23-year-old had previously become the youngest-ever winner of the 400m when she won the Gold in Doha in 2019, clocking at 48.14s. It will be a huge blow for Naser, who was looking forward to competing for the medals after missing out on them in Rio 2016.

4. Danil Lysenko (Russia)

Russian athlete Danil Lysenko is another medal hopeful who will be watching the Tokyo Olympics instead of competing in them. The high jumper, who won a Silver at the 2017 World Championships, was banned for six years on multiple anti-doping charges, which include his failure to provide whereabouts information as well as tampering with the results process.

Lysenko had missed three drug tests between September 2017 and June 2018. The missing of tests in itself constitutes a violation. However, he had provided documents that suggested he missed one of those tests as a result of being treated for appendicitis at a hospital. Investigations revealed the startling news that the hospital he had mentioned in the documents did not exist and the information was falsified.

The Russian received a six-year ban from CAS in July 2021. Two years of his ban was suspended after he helped bring charges against Russian officials. These Russian officials helped him falsify details. The high jumper is eligible to compete again in August 2022. This means that he will miss the Olympics as well as the 2022 World Championships.

3. Brianna Rollins-McNeal (USA)

American hurdler Brianna Rollins-McNeal was embroiled in controversy when she was provisionally suspended in January and handed a five-year ban in June. The ban was handed for tampering with part of a doping control process with regards to a January 2020 missed drug test. CAS dismissed the appeal against the ban in July 2021.

The five-year ban is a huge one. Rollins-McNeal will miss two Olympics owing to her ban. Such a substantial punishment was given as Rollins-McNeal was banned previously in 2017 by the US Anti-Doping Agency for a series of whereabouts violations.

The ruling meant that Rollins-McNeal, who won the gold in the 100m hurdles at the 2016 Rio Olympics, will not defend her crown in Tokyo. The American athlete had also previously won the gold in the same event at the 2013 World Championships held in Russia.

2. Sha’Carri Richardson (USA)

Tokyo Olympics was supposed to be the grand stage for Sha’Carri Richardson’s performances. However, the USA sprinter will not be participating in her event, the 100m. The 21-year-old tested positive for cannabis and was handed a one-month ban.

Although, the ban does not overlap her event's dates in Tokyo, it negates the time set by Richardson to qualify for the quadrennial event. She was also not selected in the 4 x 100m US relay team for the same reason.

The young sprinter accepted the ban, mentioning that she used the substance to cope with the death of her mother. The USA Track & Field offered support to Richardson, but reiterated that they must maintain fairness for all competing athletes.

1. Sumit Malik (India)

Indian Wrestler Sumit Malik was banned in early July 2021 for two years. The United World Wrestling imposed the ban for failing a dope test. The 28-year old’s B sample returned positive for a prohibited stimulant. Sumit had previously qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in the 125 kg freestyle category.

He had been taking a supplement as well as medicine to cure Coronavirus earlier. Sumit’s representatives believe that the prohibited substance entered through one of those. Malik had also taken painkillers to manage a right knee issue during the World Olympic Qualifier in Bulgaria. The same issue had caused him to forfeit the final bout.

In an exclusive interview with Khel Now, Sumit had stressed on how his recovery process from the injury was moving on smoothly and how he hopes to bring back laurels for his country. However, this ban would have been a huge dash to his hopes of competing at the Olympics.

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