Nigerian boxer Cynthia Ogunsemilore has been provisionally suspended from the Paris 2024 Olympics after testing positive for a banned substance.
The 22-year-old, who won gold at the African Games in Accra this year and a bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, tested positive for furosemide, a diuretic and masking agent.
The International Testing Agency (ITA) collected the out-of-competition sample on July 25 on behalf of the International Olympic Committee. Ogunsemilore can appeal, but any decision will not come in time for her debut fight against Shih Yi Wu of Chinese Taipei on Monday in the 60kg lightweight division.
This marks the second consecutive Olympics where a Nigerian athlete has been suspended for doping, following sprinter Blessing Okagbare’s 11-year ban for human growth hormone use in Tokyo 2020.
Concerns had been raised about Nigerian athletes potentially being barred from competing under their flag due to allegations by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that Nigeria’s anti-doping agency is non-compliant. Nigeria’s National Anti-Doping Committee denies these allegations, and the case is currently under review by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
