Brazilian medalist at 2016 Rio Olympics banned 2 years for missed doping controls

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — A Brazilian bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics was banned for two years Friday for missing doping controls.

Maicol Siqueira was unavailable to give a no-notice sample for drug testing three times in a one-year period, said the International Testing Agency, which runs the anti-doping program for World Taekwondo.

The 33-year-old athlete is banned until Jan. 18, 2028, the ITA said in a statement.

Siqueira took bronze in the men’s 80-kilogram class at his home Olympics 10 years ago, and team gold with Brazil at the 2023 PanAmerican Games

It was unclear if he was still competing when he missed the doping controls.

The global anti-doping system requires athletes to specify a one-hour period each day where they will be available to give a sample for testing. Three so-called “whereabouts” failures in a 12-month period can be prosecuted as an anti-doping rules violation.

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