NIGERIAN boxer Cynthia Ogunsemilore has been provisionally suspended from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after she tested positive to a banned substance.
The International Testing Agency said in a statement in Paris this morning that Ogunsemilore tested positive for furosemide in an out-of-competition doping test conducted on Thursday.
Furosemide is used to treat fluid retention (edema) and swelling that is caused by congestive heart failure, liver disease, kidney disease, or other medical conditions and is included on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on its prohibited list.
The drug is categorised as a diuretic and a masking agent, which can prevent the detection of other performance-enhancing substances.
“The athlete has been informed of the case and has been provisionally suspended until the resolution of the matter in line with the World Anti-Doping Code and the International Olympic Committee Anti-Doping Rules,” the ITA statement said.
“This means that the athlete is prevented from competing, training, coaching, or participating in any activity, during the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
“The athlete has the right to challenge the imposition of the provisional suspension before the Court of Arbitration for Sport – Anti-Doping Division. The athlete also has the right to request the analysis of the B-sample.”
Ogunsemilore was scheduled to fight Taiwan’s Wu Shih Yi in a women’s boxing round of 16 bout on Tuesday.
Ogunsemilore, 22, won the African Games title in her lightweight class last year and took bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
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