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CAS clears Japan's Ikeda of doping violation and overturns four-year ban

Koki Ikeda in action
Koki Ikeda in actionYukihito Taguchi / USA TODAY Sports

The Court of Arbitration for Sport on ⁠Friday upheld an appeal by Japanese race walker Koki Ikeda ‌against World Athletics, clearing the Tokyo Olympic silver ‌medallist of an anti-doping rule ‌violation and making him immediately eligible ‌to compete again.

The 28-year-old was ‌provisionally suspended in November 2024 before receiving a four-year sanction from the ‌Athletics Integrity Unit in February ⁠2025 for ‌allegedly using or attempting to use a ​banned drug.

Ikeda challenged the ruling at CAS in ​March 2025, rejecting the doping allegations brought by World Athletics, which had ⁠alleged blood ​manipulation based on abnormalities in his Athlete Biological Passport.

The case was heard by a CAS panel in ‌Lausanne in May.

While the panel accepted that several readings in Ikeda's biological profile were abnormal, it found there was a reasonable non-doping explanation for the findings.

CAS said Ikeda supported his case with substantial medical and expert evidence, ‌providing a broader factual basis than ​was available during the proceedings before ‌the World Athletics tribunal.

The appeal body overturned the four-year sanction, concluding that the anti-doping charge had not been established and ⁠that no ⁠ban should apply.

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