The Japanese walker Koki Ikeda – who took Olympic Games silver on home soil in Tokyo 2021 – is banned for four years for doping, announces Athletics Integrity Unit (IAU).
Perseus Karlström's competitor has been suspended from competing since November 2024. His results from June 2023 have been removed.
He is one of the biggest in the sport. And just that it's about Japan, which is a major nation. That makes it come as a very big shock, said Karlström to Aftonbladet when the suspicions against Ikeda became known.
It was during 2023 that doping authorities detected deviations in the 26-year-old's blood samples, which were deemed as "blood manipulation" according to IAU.
The Japanese athlete has, apart from the Olympic Games silver, also taken World Championship silver in 2022 in Eugene, USA, where Swedish Karlström took bronze.
