First Olympian caught doping, banned from the Winter Games
Japanese short track speedskater Kei Saito made history at the Winter Olympics, but not in the way he had dreamed of.
Saito was found to have tested positive for a chemical used to mask the presence of banned drugs, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Tuesday.
He received a provisional suspension — meaning it could be overturned on appeal — and agreed to leave the Olympic Village. He will not compete in the Games or any other International Skating Union event “pending the resolution of this matter,” the court said.
Saito becomes the first athlete to be prohibited from competing in this year’s games because of a doping violation.
He was scheduled to compete Wednesday in the second heat of the men’s 5,000-meter relay.
Saito, 21, tested positive for acetazolamide, a diuretic most commonly prescribed for glaucoma. Acetazolamide is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances because it has been used by elite athletes to mask banned performance-enhancing substances.
Japanese short track speed skater Kei Saito has been suspended from the Winter Olympics after a positive doping test https://t.co/GU4NPCRfuq pic.twitter.com/IrTZoZ7F4w
— CNN (@CNN) February 13, 2018
The suspension is based on a test administered a week prior to beginning of the Games.
Saito denied taking a banned substance.
“I have never considered doping. I have never used anabolic steroids so I have never needed to try to hide it,” he said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press.
“I have consulted with medical experts to treat any injuries or sickness in advance and I have paid attention to my daily consumption of drinks and food,” Saito said. “I have no merit and motivation for using this drug. I cannot think of any other case than I accidentally and unintentionally took it in.
“The findings are beyond me, and I plan to fight to prove my innocence,” he added.
Saito said he agreed to leave the Olympic Village because “I do not want to be a disturbance to my teammates competing at the Olympic Games … and will leave the team and the athletes village voluntarily.”
The Japanese Olympic Committee said it accepted the provisional suspension only because there was no chance to clear Saito’s name before the Games had concluded.
The #WinterOlympics has lost its first athlete to a doping suspension. https://t.co/KAbGjS2WAw
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 13, 2018
“At this point, all we know is that the sample A and sample B tested positive. It is impossible for us to submit any evidence that prove them otherwise during the limited time,” the JOC said in a statement to the AP. “That is why we had to go with the provisional measure. The violation of the anti-doping rules has not been proven, so it is not decided yet. So please understand that point.
“Saito has no idea why this has happened, so we as Japanese Olympic team continue to make every effort to prove that there was no anti-rule violation by Kei Saito.”
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