As one country disguises itself at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics after widespread doping cost them official representation, another one has been forced to deal with its first-ever positive doping test at a Winter Games. As relayed by USA Today, Kyodo News reported early Tuesday in South Korea that Japanese speed skater Kei Saito, 21, has tested positive for an "unnamed banned substance and would be excluded from the short-track program."
The Japanese Olympic Committee was planning to host a news conference to announce Saito's positive test on Tuesday morning, according to the agency.
The revelation will be a major embarrassment to Japanese sports, which has long prided itself on its clean image and will be hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Saito's failed drug test, as USA Today noted, marks the first time anyone from Japan has ever been reprimanded for doping at a Winter Olympics. But it isn't the first time that the country has had athletes gracing the wrong headlines this year.
One of Japan's top kayakers for the 2020 Tokyo Games was banned from competition by the Japan Anti-Doping Agency in January after he was found to have spiked a rival's drink with anabolic steroids.
