The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has announced that Nigeria athletes have successfully met the stringent anti-doping requirements for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
This marks a significant improvement from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where 10 Nigerian athletes were barred from competing due to failing to meet testing requirements.
Nigeria is one of six nations classified as “Category A” by the AIU, which deems these countries as having “the highest doping risk and a threat to the overall integrity of athletics.”
The other Category A countries are Bahrain, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, and Ukraine.
Countries not classified as Category A but still under scrutiny by the AIU and subject to minimum testing requirements imposed by the World Athletics Council in February are Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Portugal.
Under World Athletics’ Anti-Doping Rule 15, athletes from these countries face stricter testing protocols, including a minimum of three out-of-competition (OOC) tests in the 10 months leading up to the Olympic Games.
According to the AIU, over 97% of the 268 athletes from these high-risk nations, including Nigeria, met these strict standards.
The AIU also reported that 3,783 out-of-competition tests were conducted for the 10 federations under scrutiny leading up to Paris. These tests resulted in 15 positive cases, though the AIU did not specify which countries were involved.
AIU Chair David Howman stated, “This requirement is integral to ensuring an acceptable level of scrutiny for athletes from countries with high doping risk, and it is paramount that the AIU enforces it strictly.”
Only seven athletes—three from Brazil, one from Ethiopia, one from Kenya, and two from Ukraine—did not adhere to Rule 15 obligations. These athletes applied for exceptional circumstances to the AIU Board, which accepted the applications from the Ukrainians but rejected the others.
The AIU also noted a high level of commitment from all 10 federations, supported by their National Anti-Doping Agencies (NADOs), in meeting the testing requirements under World Athletics Rule 15. During the lead-up to Paris, 3,783 OOC tests were conducted, with high averages of seven OOC tests per athlete in federations such as Ethiopia and Kenya. These tests resulted in 15 positive cases.