Reports indicate that the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has handed a three-year suspension to Para-powerlifting athlete Latifat Tijani for an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV), following the IPC Anti-Doping Code.
Tijani was found to have provided an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for the presence of testosterone and/or its precursors in an out-of-competition urine sample collected on 6 August.
As the reigning Olympic champion and Rio 2016 silver medallist in the -45kg category, Tijani’s case was rigorously analyzed using Gas Chromatography/Combustion/Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS), which confirmed the presence of testosterone and/or its metabolites of exogenous origin.
Exogenous testosterone falls under Class S1.1 of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List for 2023 and is prohibited at all times.
Initially provisionally suspended by the IPC on 20 October 2023, Tijani accepted the findings of the ADRV and the consequences proposed by the IPC.
Consequently, she will be ineligible for competition and other athletic activities (except approved anti-doping education or rehabilitation programmes) from 20 October 2023 to 19 October 2026.
Furthermore, all results obtained by Tijani from the date of the sample collection until the start of the Provisional Suspension will be disqualified, resulting in forfeiture of any medals, points, and prizes
