Koki Ikeda Receives Four-Year Doping Ban from AIU

Jannik Sinner, the top-ranked men's tennis player, has accepted a three-month ban from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after testing positive for clostebol, an anabolic steroid, during the Indian Wells tournament. Sinner, who won the Australian Open in January, revealed his case had been ongoing for nearly a year, leading to scrutiny and questions about potential double standards in doping enforcement. He attributed the positive tests to a spray purchased by his fitness trainer that was sold over the counter in Italy. In a separate incident, Japanese racewalker Koki Ikeda has been given a four-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for blood manipulation, with all his results from June 2023 onward disqualified. Ikeda's violations were detected through abnormalities in his Athlete Biological Passport, highlighting ongoing concerns in sports regarding doping practices. Both cases illustrate the continuing challenges sports authorities face in maintaining fair competition amidst doping allegations.