Japanese race walker Koki Ikeda has been cleared of an anti-doping rule violation by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which upheld his appeal against World Athletics. The ruling means the Tokyo Olympic silver medallist can compete again straight away.
The 28-year-old was provisionally suspended in November 2024. In February 2025, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) handed him a four-year sanction, alleging he had used or attempted to use a banned drug. He had already been barred from the Japan Race Walking Championships that month, and all of his competitive results between June 20, 2023 and November 1, 2024 were disqualified.
CAS panel finds reasonable non-doping explanation
Ikeda challenged the decision at CAS in March 2025. He rejected World Athletics’ claim that he had manipulated his blood, a claim based on irregularities in his Athlete Biological Passport. The panel heard the case in Lausanne in May.
The panel accepted that several readings in his biological profile were abnormal, but it found a reasonable non-doping explanation for them. CAS said Ikeda had backed his case with substantial medical and expert evidence, offering a wider factual basis than the World Athletics tribunal had seen. The appeal body concluded the anti-doping charge had not been proven and that no ban should apply.
Ikeda was runner-up in the 20km event at the Tokyo Games and at the World Championships in Eugene in 2022. He finished seventh at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Ruti Aga receives six-year ban from AIU
The AIU said on Thursday that Ethiopian marathon runner Ruti Aga, the winner of the 2019 Tokyo Marathon, had been banned for six years. The sanction covers the presence or use of the prohibited substance methylprednisolone and tampering with evidence.
According to the AIU, Aga, 32, first received a two-year ban after testing positive for methylprednisolone, a prohibited steroid that can reduce pain and fatigue and aid recovery. The sample was taken after she won a half marathon in China in March. The unit added four years after finding she had misled investigators during an interview and submitted a fake prescription to justify her use of the substance.
Aga has been provisionally suspended since September 10, and the ban runs from that date. She has finished second three times and third twice at World Marathon Majors.
