Doping case | Italian shot putter Ponzio banned for 18 months; will miss Paris Olympics

Italian shot putter Nick Ponzio banned for 18 months by Italian Anti-Doping Agency for drug-testing violations, ruling him out of Paris Olympics.

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.

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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.