Professional Kayaker Banned For Sabotage, Spiking Rival’s Water With Steroids

A Japanese kayaker who spiked a rival’s drink with a banned steroid was barred from competing in the sport for eight years Tuesday and could face further sanctions including a lifetime ban.

Yasuhiro Suzuki, 32, admitted to lacing rival Seiji Komatsu’s drink last year at the Canoe Sprint Japan Championships with a banned anabolic steroid. Komatsu, 25, then failed a doping test and was suspended and had his records stripped by the Japan Canoe Federation (JCF), the governing body that oversees kayaking. The JCF overturned his suspension Tuesday.

Suzuki laced the drink after the competition, which Komatsu won.

The Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA) handed down the suspension, but the JCF is considering even tougher sanctions on Suzuki — possibly a lifetime ban, according to Japan Times. Suzuki had hoped to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the September championship where he cheated was a qualifying event. JADA said this was the first time an athlete has sabotaged another athlete in this way.

Suzuki allegedly had a history of sabotage stretching back to the November 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. Suzuki had broken and hid paddles of at least five of his competitors over the years, according to Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun.

Suzuki admitted to spiking the drink in November after the JCF handed out a punishment against Komatsu. Suzuki called the federation's director and said “I committed the act .. I was stupid and [mentally] weak,” according to Asahi.

“I was overcome by despair that it would be impossible for me to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It was mental anguish,” said Komatsu to Asahi Tuesday. “If Suzuki had not confessed, I would have faced a long suspension so I guess on that point I have to thank Suzuki for coming clean and confessing. Now I just have to focus on doing my best toward the Tokyo Olympics.”