Ten Nigerian athletes banned from participating in Tokyo Olympics

Nigeria's chances of successful competition at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics have suffered a major setback after the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) ruled that ten Nigerian athletes are ineligible to participate. 

 The athletes were ruled ineligible due to failure to meet the minimum testing requirements under Rule 15 of the Anti-Doping Rules for ‘Category A’ federations. ‘Category A’ federations are those that are deemed to have the highest doping risk and considered as a threat to the overall integrity of the sport.

 This was revealed in a statement released by the AIU, an independent Athletic body charged with managing all issues of integrity, including doping and non-doping cases. 

 The AIU revealed that a total number of 18 athletes were ruled ineligible to compete at the Tokyo Olympics, with Nigeria accounting for the majority, with 10 athletes. 

 The names of the athletes were not released in the statement.

 A major requirement of Rule 15 is that “an athlete from a ‘Category A’ country must undergo at least three no-notice out-of-competition tests (urine and blood) conducted no less than 3 weeks apart in the 10 months leading up to a major event. Only then do they become eligible to represent their national team at the World Athletics Championships or the Olympic Games.”