Italian officials seek to ban track-and-field athletes headed for Olympics
Italy’s Fabrizio Donato competes in the men’s triple jump final at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Italian sports officials have requested two-year bans for 26 track-and-field athletes from their country, including some expected to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The Italian Olympic Committee has accused the athletes of evading mandatory doping tests, a spokesman said.
The list includes Fabrizio Donato, a bronze medalist in the triple jump from the 2012 London Olympics, and Andrew Howe, who won silver in the long jump at the 2007 world championships.
Ten of the athletes on the list have retired, but a handful had already qualified for the Rio de Janeiro Games.
A national sports tribunal is expected to hear their cases early next year.
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