Italian shot putter Nick Ponzio
| Photo Credit: AP
American-born Italian shot putter Nick Ponzio was banned for 18 months by the Italian Anti-Doping Agency for drug-testing violations, ruling him out of next year’s Paris Olympics.
Ponzio reached a plea deal with doping authorities after he was unable to be found for surprise tests on three occasions.
According to Italian media reports on December 19, Ponzio said it was not his fault and that there was a glitch with the app on his phone that meant he did not receive the notifications.
Ponzio’s ban runs until August 27 as it started last February. The Olympics take place from July 26 to August 11.
Ponzio, who was born in San Diego but qualified for Italy because his great grandfather was Italian, competed at the Tokyo Olympics but didn’t get past the qualifying round. He finished fourth at last year’s European Championships.
The 28-year-old Ponzio is the second Italian athlete to be suspended in less than a week after steeplechase runner Ahmed Abdelwahed was given a maximum four-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit on Thursday.
Italy’s athletics team had a breakout performance in Tokyo, winning five gold medals including a surprise victory for Marcell Jacobs in the 100 metres.