Iraqi judoka tests positive for anabolic steroids at Paris Olympics

A male judoka from Iraq tested positive for two anabolic steroids at the Paris Olympics, the International Testing Agency said Friday.

It was the first doping case at these Summer Games and was announced hours before the opening ceremony started.

Sajjad Sehen, a 28-year-old first-time Olympian, tested positive for metandienone and boldenone in a sample taken in Paris on Tuesday. He was due to compete next Tuesday.

Sehen is provisionally suspended while a disciplinary case is prosecuted, said the ITA, which oversees the games-time anti-doping program for the International Olympic Committee.

Sehen was due to compete in the men's 81 kilogram class, starting Tuesday in the round of 32 against an opponent from Uzbekistan.

The ITA's anti-doping program at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 caught six athletes in the official games period, from 6,200 samples taken.

WATCH l A closer look at the history of doping at the Games:

History of doping at the Olympics

5 months ago

Duration 7:22

With the Paris Summer Olympics beginning next week, we're taking a look at the history of doping at the Games. The scandal surrounding former Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson rocked the country in 1988. And doping is still an issue today. We spoke to Catherine Carstairs and Aiden Hughes from the University of Guelph in Ontario, where they study alcohol and drug history—and the current state of doping.