Nigerian Boxer Cynthia Ogunsemilore Suspended From Paris Olympics

Nigerian Cynthia Temitayo Ogunsemilore has been suspended from the Paris Olympics for violating an anti-doping rule, the International Testing Agency said Saturday. The 22-year-old African Games lightweight champion was due to compete Monday as the fourth-seeded boxer in the women’s 60kg class.

A sample collected from the boxer “has returned an adverse analytical finding for the specified prohibited substance furosemide,” the ITA said in a statement.

Furosemide is classified under “diuretics and masking agents” by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the ITA added. The sample was collected in Paris on Thursday, a day before the Olympics opening ceremony, and reported by a WADA-accredited laboratory on Saturday. The ITA conducted pre-competition testing before the start of the Games and tested 90% of the participants.

“The athlete has been informed of the case and has been provisionally suspended until the resolution of the matter” the agency said. “This means that the athlete is prevented from competing, training, coaching, or participating in any activity, during the Olympic Games Paris 2024,” the ITA said.

Ogunsemilore has the right to challenge her provisional suspension at the Court of Arbitration and can also request an analysis of the B sample.

Two other athletes have been suspended since the start of the Games. The ITA announced Friday that Iraqi judoka Sajjad Sehen has tested positive for banned anabolic steroids. The 2023 African Open and Asian Open bronze medallist was set to debut in the U81kg category.

Dominican volleyball player Lisvel Eve Mejia, meanwhile, tested positive for furosemide and was removed from the national team and faces a four-year suspension.

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