A positive result for a prohibited substance was recorded at the Olympics prior to the commencement of the opening ceremony.
Sajjad Sehen’s debut Olympic experience has ended before it began, as the Iraqi judoka tested positive for metandienone and boldenone in a sample collected in Paris on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old was set to compete on Tuesday but will be returning home instead.
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Athletes of Team Iraq are seen on a boat on the Seine River during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024, in Paris. (Aytac Unal/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Sehen is currently provisionally suspended while a disciplinary case is being processed, as reported by the International Testing Agency, responsible for overseeing the anti-doping program for the International Olympic Committee.
“This implies that the athlete is barred from competing, training, coaching, or participating in any activity during the Olympic Games,” the agency stated.
The agency also noted that Sehen “has the right to challenge the provisional suspension at the Court of Arbitration for Sport – Anti-Doping Division (CAS ADD)” and can “request the analysis of the B sample.”
The Iraqi delegation, led by flag bearer Ali Ammar Yusur Rubaiawi, sails during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024, in Paris. (Damien Meyer/AFP via Getty Images)
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Sehen was listed in the 81kg division bracket.
During the Tokyo Games, six athletes tested positive for prohibited substances.
Metandienone, commonly known as Dianabol or D-Bol, is one of the anabolic steroids Sehen is accused of taking.
Sehen was scheduled to compete against Sharofiddin Boltaboev of Uzbekistan in the elimination Round of 32.
He secured a bronze medal at the 2023 Arab Games and was a two-time World Cup bronze medalist in the same category last year.
In addition to the 18-member soccer team, Iraq is now represented by only three other athletes at the Games: sprinter Taha Hussein Yaseen, swimmer Hasan Al-Zinkee, and weightlifter Ali Rubaiawi.
Ali Ammar Yusur Rubaiawi, the flag bearer for Team Iraq, waves the flag from a boat alongside Team Ireland during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024, in Paris. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
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The complete 81kg competition is scheduled for July 30, starting at 4 a.m. ET.
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