Cynthia Ogunsemilore suspended from Olympics after doping test
Nigerian boxer Cynthia Temitayo Ogunsemilore has been suspended from the Paris Olympics for violating an anti-doping rule, the International Testing Agency (ITA) announced on Saturday.
A sample collected from Ogunsemilore returned an adverse analytical finding for the specified prohibited substance furosemide, the ITA stated.
Furosemide is classified under “diuretics and masking agents” by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The sample was collected in Paris on Thursday, just one day before the Olympics’ opening ceremony, and was reported by a WADA-accredited laboratory on Saturday.
“The athlete has been informed of the case and has been provisionally suspended until the resolution of the matter,” the agency said.
“This means that the athlete is prevented from competing, training, coaching, or participating in any activity during the Olympic Games Paris 2024.”
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Ogunsemilore has the right to challenge her provisional suspension at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and can also request an analysis of the B sample.
Competing in the under 60 kg category, the 22-year-old boxer was due to make her Olympic debut on Monday.
Two other athletes have been suspended since the start of the Games. The ITA announced on Friday that Iraqi judoka Sajjad Sehen tested positive for banned anabolic steroids, while Dominican volleyball player Lisvel Eve Mejia also tested positive for furosemide.
Proofreading, editing by Sakinat Musa Abubakar and Maryam Sulaiman, Editor and Journalist at Neptune Prime.
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