Japanese Olympic speed skater tests positive for doping: report

February 13, 2018 - 19:00

Japanese short-track speed skater Kei Saito has tested positive for doping at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games, Kyodo news agency said, citing multiple sources.

Japanese short-track speed skater Kei Saito trains during official practice for the Pyeongchang Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea. — KYODO Photo
Viet Nam News

TOKYO - Japanese short-track speed skater Kei Saito has tested positive for doping at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games, Kyodo news agency said, citing multiple sources.

Saito, 21, failed an out-of-competition test in the lead-up to the Games, the agency said late Monday, citing unnamed sources.

If true the positive doping test would be the first ever returned by a Japanese athlete at a Winter Olympics, Kyodo added.

It said the Japanese Olympic Committee had scheduled a press conference Tuesday to address Saito’s adverse finding.

Games organisers said they had no information on the doping report and the

International Olympic Committee said it was not responsible for doping cases, referring the matter to the Independent Testing Authority, a new anti-doping body.

Saito, a human biology student whose sister Hitomi is also competing in Pyeongchang, was a member of Japan’s 3,000m relay team that finished third at the 2013 and 2014 world junior championships. - AFP

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