Nigerian boxer suspended from Paris Olympics after doping test

A volunteer speaks on the phone under the Olympics rings at North Paris Arena, the venue for Boxing for the Paris Olympics 2024, in Villepinte, north of Paris, on July 24, 2024. (Photo by Mohd RASFAN / AFP)

Nigerian boxer Cynthia Temitayo Ogunsemilore has been suspended from the Paris Olympics for violating an anti-doping rule, the International Testing Agency said Saturday.

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.

READ: Paris Olympics 2024: Meet the Philippine boxing team

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 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.

READ: Beleaguered boxing has a new look in Paris Olympics

A boxer in the under 60 kg category, the 22-year-old was due to debut at the Olympics on Monday.

Two other athletes have been suspended since the start of the Games.

The ITA announced Friday Iraqi judoka Sajjad Sehen has tested positive for banned anabolic steroids.

Dominican volleyball player Lisvel Eve Mejia, meanwhile, tested positive for furosemide.