In a follow-up to our report from June that Japanese swimmer Junya Koga‘s 4-year suspension was reduced to just 2 years, the Court Arbitration of Sport (CAS) has released its official document relaying that information.
31-year-old Koga failed two drug tests in the month of March 2018, which resulted in his being removed from the Japanese National Team. Koga tested positive for traces of ‘banned muscle-building substances’, which the Olympian denied having taken knowingly. The substances were later identified as selective androgen receptor modulators “LGD-4033” and “SARM S-22”.
LGD-4033 also goes by the name of Ligandrol, which is the same substance Aussie Shayna Jack tested positive for in both her A and B samples. You can read the latest on Jack’s situation here.
As for Koga, after having been handed a 4-year ban by FINA for having tested positive for a prohibited substance, the 2017 World Championships medalist appealed to the CAS.
Per the official CAS release below, ‘In June 2019, the parties informed the CAS that having agreed that contaminated supplements were the most likely source, on a balance of probability, of both the Ostarine and Ligandrol found in Junya Koga‘s samples.’
The statement then reads, ‘the athlete shall be sanctioned with a period of ineligibility 2 years.’
That renders Koga available to compete as of May 14th, 2020. The Japanese Olympic Trials will most likely be concluded by then, so Koga’s possible participation in a home Olympics in 2020 is doubtful.
Artificially Jack’d
Anyone who takes a supplement and tests positive shouldn’t be whining. These “supplements” are unregulated and often are tainted. How many swimmers have tested positive and received suspensions or bans in the past ten years? Ten, fifteen, twenty? Stop using supplements!
Agree. Dumbest thing to do and swimmers, please stop promoting the use of supplements to kids and parents visa social media.
They’ll figure out a way to get him into the Olympics. They always do.