Polish track cyclist Marcin Polak, who won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, has been provisionally suspended after returning a positive doping test.
Key points:
- Polak was a bronze medallist in the men’s B 4,000m individual pursuit
- He tested positive to the banned substance EPO
- Polak was scheduled to contest the men’s B 1,000m time trial
Polak, who finished third alongside his pilot Michal Ladosz in the men’s B 4,000 metres individual pursuit, tested positive to the banned blood booster EPO.
“The rider has been provisionally suspended pending the final adjudication of the matter,” the International Cycling Union (UCI) said in a statement.
“He is thus not allowed to participate in the men’s B 1,000m time trial of the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 scheduled for 28 August 2021.
“The consequences on the bronze medal he obtained in the men’s B 4000m individual pursuit of the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be determined by the relevant disciplinary panel.”
The UCI said Polak had the right to request and attend the analysis of his B sample.
Polak, 38, won his bronze medal on Wednesday.
He also claimed two time trial world titles in 2015 and 2017, and won an individual pursuit world title on the track in 2019.
EPO is listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list.
Reuters
