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The work of the International Testing Agency (ITA), the international body that carries out anti-doping tests, continues to bear fruit: on Friday, the day of the opening ceremony, it confirmed a result concerning the Iraqi judoka Sajjad Ghanim Sehen Sehen.

Specifically, the sample taken from him showed a negative result for the unspecified prohibited substances methandienone and boldenone (classified as S1 Anabolic androgenic steroid. These substances are expressly prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Organisation (WADA).

The sample was collected by the ITA under the analytical and results management authority of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during an Out-of-Competition test on 23 July 2024 in Paris, France.



The result was reported by the WADA-accredited laboratory in Paris on 25 July 2024. The ITA conducted pre-competition testing prior to the start of the Games and tested 90% of the participants.

The athlete has been informed of the case and has been provisionally suspended pending resolution of the matter in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and IOC Anti-Doping Rules for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

This means that the Athlete may not compete, train, coach or participate in any other activity during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The Athlete also has the right to request the analysis of the B Sample.

The Athlete has the right to appeal the imposition of the Provisional Suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport - Anti-Doping Division (CAS).

 The ITA is a non-profit organisation specialising in the implementation of comprehensive clean sport measures. It is managing an independent anti-doping programme for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on behalf of the IOC.

China

The statistics reflect a greater number of tests in Chinese athletes, protagonists of unresolved controversies on this subject. In April it was revealed that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive in the Tokyo preview, but they claimed to have been the victims of food poisoning. 

These explanations were accepted by the global anti-doping authorities, something neither the reference athletes nor the U.S. antidoping agency believe at all. This in turn, has caused a shock with the organisation of the Olympic Games, which this same week warned the United States that its global doping authority will have to be respected at the upcoming Winter Games in Salt Lake City.