Rıza Kayaalp, who was found to have a banned substance in the medication he used, will not be able to wrestle at the Paris Olympics.

World and European champion, Olympic runner-up Rıza Kayaalp will not be able to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics due to the presence of a banned substance in the medication he used for treatment under the supervision of a sports physician.

TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED

Rıza Kayaalp, who is one of our biggest medal hopes in the Paris Olympics and is the European and World champion, had a banned substance detected in the medication he used for treatment under the supervision of a sports physician. Therefore, Kayaalp was temporarily suspended from all competitions.

NOT INCLUDED IN THE OLYMPIC SQUAD

The deadline for countries to submit their athletes for the Olympics ended today. Rıza Kayaalp, who was temporarily suspended from competitions due to the use of banned substances, was not included in the squad. Hamza Bakır will compete for the gold medal in Paris in place of Rıza Kayaalp.

WHAT DID KAYAALP SAY?

Rıza Kayaalp, who made a statement about the issue a few days ago, stated that the banned substance was due to the medication he used and said, "Despite all the professional care I have shown in my 24-year successful clean sports career, I am facing an unfortunate situation in the final Olympic preparation. I wanted you to hear all the developments first from me with my usual sincerity without any announcement made by any news platform or authorized authorities. Urgent intervention was made due to the increase in my complaints of severe ringing in the ears, dizziness, and headaches in recent times. Throughout my career, I have shown all the necessary attention and care in every aspect of my life. I have not acted without the approval of my experts in the food I consume or the painkillers I use. This attention to detail is well known in the sports community as well. I started the treatment process with the prescription written to me by consulting my sports physician in written and verbal form, with the professional consciousness given by my sports career. As a result of the wrong treatment applied to me during this treatment process approved by my sports physician, I was temporarily suspended from participating in sports competitions by the officials of the United World Wrestling (UWW). Therefore, I am facing the risk of not being able to participate in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games. We have started our legal struggle for this injustice suffered by my clean sports career," he said.

RIZA KAYAALP'S ACHIEVEMENTS

Rıza Kayaalp, who has successfully represented our country, has managed to win 14 European, 10 world, and 3 Olympic medals. The ASKI Sports national wrestler had earned a quota for the Paris 2024 Olympics in the Greco-Roman style 130 kg category.