In sports, nikethamide is listed by the World Anti-Doping Agency as a banned substance.
Cyclists Jaime Huelamo and Aad van den Hoek were both caught using the drug at the 1972 Summer Olympics; at the time it was a permitted substance according to the International Cyclists Union but not the International Olympic Committee.
When it was discovered that American sprinter and world champion Torri Edwards had used nikethamide, she was banned for two years.
In 2005, however, WADA downgraded nikethamide so that one would only receive a maximum one-year ban.
Official sources have stated that former Russian ice hockey player Alexei Cherepanov had been taking nikethamide and that it had been taken 3 hours prior to the game in which he died.
13-year old Polish kart driver Igor Walilko was given a two-year ban (reduced then to eighteen months) from competition in 2010 due to testing positive for nikethamide after a win in Germany in July, 2010. [5]
Croatian tennis player Marin Čilić was suspended from competition for nine months after he tested positive for nikethamide in May 2013
