Japan kayak racer banned 8 years for spiking drink of rival

TOKYO— A Japanese kayaker has been banned from competition for eight years for spiking the drink of a rival so that he would fail a doping test.

Yasuhiro Suzuki drugged his key rival at last year's national championships in September. Suzuki spiked the drink of rival Seiji Komatsu with an anabolic steroid causing him to fail a doping test, the Japan Anti-Doping Agency said Tuesday.

The Japan Canoe Federation began investigating after Komatsu tested positive but denied ever taking drugs.

After Komatsu tested positive, Suzuki admitted putting a muscle-building supplement containing the banned steroid methandienone in his drink.

The incident is Japan's first case of an athlete failing a doping test due to deliberate contamination, according to the Japan Anti-Doping Agency, which handed down the eight-year ban.

AP