TOKYO: Kenyan sprinter Mark Odhiambo, who was to have lined up for the heats of the men’s Olympic 100m on Saturday, has been suspended after testing positive for steroids, officials said.
“The athlete… has been informed of the case and has been provisionally suspended until the resolution of the matter in line with World Anti-Doping Code and the IOC Anti-Doping Rules,” the International Testing Agency (ITA) said in a statement.
Odhiambo, who has a best time of 10.05sec, has challenged the result and the case has been referred to the anti-doping division of the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.
It was announced earlier Saturday that Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare has been barred from taking part in the semi-finals of the women’s 100m on Saturday after she tested positive for human growth hormone.
Okagbare, who won her heat on Friday, failed the test on July 19, four days before the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony.
