KOMATSU Seiji

General
SPIKING INCIDENT
In January 2018 an investigation by the Japan Canoe Federation discovered that he had been drugged by a rival at the previous year's national championships. Yasuhiro Suzuki admitted spiking Komatsu's drink with methandienone, an anabolic steroid, with the intention of causing his disqualification. At the hearing, 32-year-old Suzuki claimed he had felt under pressure from other younger athletes on the national team, and that he had hoped to increase his chances of qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games if Komatsu tested positive for a banned substance. Komatsu's provisional suspension was lifted with immediate effect, although his results from the 2017 Japanese Championships were nullified, while Suzuki was given an eight-year ban by the Japan Anti-Doping Agency [JADA]. (kyodonews.net, 09 Jan 2018; nikkei.com, 10 Jan 2018)

COACHING
After missing qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games, he spent time focusing on coaching. He was invited by Japanese national coach Izumi Honda to join a Para canoeing training camp where he helped in the training of Para paddlers, and said it reignited his ambition to compete at the Olympic Games. "It's frustrating [not qualifying for Tokyo]. But seeing the Paralympic athletes doing their best gives me encouragement and inspiration as I aim for the next Olympics [in 2024]." (asahi.com, 25 Aug 2021)

HERITAGE
He was born to a Japanese father and a Filipino-Japanese mother. (seijikomatsu.spo-sta.com, 29 May 2023)