South Africa’s long jump specialist Livo Manyonga on Friday was temporarily banned by the Athletics Integrity Unity (AIU) for failing to notify anti-doping authorities of his location, AFP confirmed. He now faces the prospect of missing the rescheduled Tokyo Games later this year.
Manyonga– a silver medalist at Rio, 2016– was charged for whereabouts failure the body confirmed in a tweet.
“The AIU has charged Luvo Manyonga of South Africa for whereabouts failures, a violation of the @WorldAthletics Anti-Doping Rules. The long jumper has been provisionally suspended,” the AIU tweet read.
He celebrated his 30th birthday on Friday and failed to adhere to the protocols. Athletes must let authorities know their intended whereabouts to allow anti-doping officials to find them. If they fail to show or give wrong information three times in a year they can be punished.
In 2012, Manyonga, a world champion in 2017 and Commonwealth champion in 2018, was banned for 18 months after testing positive for recreational drug methamphetamine.
In December, he told his country’s Sunday Times newspaper he was clean after a long battle with drug addiction but was not training after a public plea from his sister a week earlier to return to rehab.
Last May, Manyonga was fined for public drinking and contravening South Africa’s strict lockdown restrictions.
Manyonga is the fourth athletics world champion since 2017 banned for a whereabouts infraction. He follows Kenyan middle-distance runner Elijah Manangoi, Bahraini runner Salwa Eid Naser and US sprinter Christian Coleman,
Coleman, the 100m world champion last year, has appealed his ban in attempt to run at the Tokyo Olympics.
Naser, the 2019 women’s 400m world champion, has been cleared to compete, but in November, World Athletics filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the decision
Later on Friday, the AIU said Kenyan Olympic 800m finalists Alfred Kipketer had been banned for two years, backdated back to November 2019, for the same offence. He can appeal the decision.
The delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics are scheduled to start on 23 July 2021.