NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 13 – The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has opened disciplinary proceedings against sprinter Mark Otieno over an alleged doping offense after he was barred from competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Otieno was barred from competing in the Heats of the 100m after the Kenyan contingent was informed of an Adverse Analytical Finding on his sample.
According to information then from Team Kenya Chief de Mission, the Adverse Analytical Finding was from a sample collected on July 28.
However, the AIU in a statement on Thursday night confirmed that the Adverse Analytic finding on Otieno’s sample was from a test conducted by WADA’s accredited Laboratory in South Africa on a sample collected on June 24 by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK).
“On 2 August, the WADA-accredited laboratory in Bloemfontein (RSA), confirmed an Adverse Analytical Finding in a sample collected on 24 June by the AntiDoping Agency of Kenya (ADAK). Upon request, ADAK immediately handed over the case management responsibility for the ADAK sample to the AIU,” a statement from the AIU said.
The Integrity Unit now says it will wait for the conclusion of the proceedings of the International Testing Agency before it formally charges the Kenyan sprinter.
After Otieno’s sample returned a positive test, the Kenyan contingent said it would request for a test on the B sample.
The AIU has said that Otieno’s sample showed the presence or use of Methasterone, which is a prohibited substance under the WADA code.
According to information available on Wikipedia, Methasterone, also known as methyldrostanolone and known by the nickname Superdrol, is a synthetic and orally active anabolic–androgenic steroid which was never marketed for medical use.
It was brought to the black market, instead, in a clandestine fashion as a “designer steroid”.
Meanwhile, Otieno has insisted that he is innocent and has never doped his entire career.
