Monaco โ Koki Ikeda, a Japanese race walker and former Olympic silver medalist, has received a four-year ban due to doping violations, as announced by the Athletic Integrity Unit on Friday.
The athletics regulatory body stated that a tribunal made a decision indicating that the 26-year-old athlete had violated anti-doping regulations.
Ikeda has faced a provisional suspension from competition since November 2024, and his results have been annulled since June 2023.
Doping authorities reported that irregularities were found in Ikedaโs blood samples collected in June, August, and September 2023. The AIU suggested that these abnormalities pointed towards blood manipulation.
Ikeda notably earned a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2012 and also secured a silver at the world championships in 2022.