1st doping case by Japanese athlete in Winter Games found

February 13, 2018

Pyeongchang, South Korea- Kei Saito, a member of the Japanese men's short track speed skating team for the Pyeongchang Olympics, tested positive for a banned substance, the first such case for a Japanese athlete in Winter Olympic history, it was learned Tuesday.

The incident was revealed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on the same day. It is the first doping case found at the Pyeongchang Games, which opened on Friday in South Korea.

The CAS provisionally suspended Saito, 21, after he tested positive for acetazolamide, which has diuretic and other effects, in an out-of-competition test conducted on Feb. 4. The organization notified Saito of its decision on Friday.

In a statement published by the Japanese national team, Saito said he had no intention of violating antidoping regulations, arguing that it is not true that he took the drug on purpose.

Saito said his doping tests conducted in Japan at the end of January came back negative.

"I was surprised by the (latest) test results," said Saito, who has already left the Olympic village.

He insisted on his innocence, saying that he would not benefit from using the drug or have any other reason to use it. He said he was baffled by the test results.

A champion of the all Japan men's 1,000-meter speed skating competition in 2014, Saito is a promising athlete who has been attracting attention since he was a teen.

He was a reserve for Japan's four-member relay team in the Pyeongchang Games.

Japan has seen a series of doping-related problems since last year, including the suspension of a wrestler and a swimmer.

In January this year, a Japanese canoeist was found to have intentionally mixed a banned drug in a drink of a rival athlete. Jiji Press