BREAKING NEWS

Olympic silver medallist race walker Koki Ikeda of Japan has been provisionally banned for suspected blood doping, track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit said on Friday.

Ikeda was second in the 20-kilometre event at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and placed seventh at the Paris Olympics three months ago.

The 26-year-old walker was notified of a charge based on suspect readings in his biological passport, the AIU said.

The Shizuoka Prefecture native was runner-up again at the 2022 world championships and placed seventh at the Paris Olympics this past summer.

The Associated Press reported Ikeda received the provisional ban for "suspected blood doping," quoting the Monaco-based Athletics Integrity Unit.

Ikeda was notified of a charge based on suspicious readings in his biological passport, the AP said. The passport can give indications of doping over time without an athlete testing positive for a banned drug.

The AIU is an independent monitoring division at World Athletics tasked with combating doping and other misconduct in the sport.