By Emily Goddard

Koji Murofushi 220513May 22 - Japanese Olympic gold medallist Koji Murofushi has lost his appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to disqualify him from a place on its Athletes' Commission.

The Athens 2004 hammer gold medallist and former world champion had his election blocked, along with that of Taiwanese taekwondo Olympic champion Chu Mu-Yen, after allegedly breaching the IOC's strict campaign rules ahead of the election at London 2012, where 38-year-old Murofushi also won a bronze medal.

Murofushi, with the support of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC), filed an appeal at the CAS requesting the annulment of the IOC Executive Board's decision in September last year but the Swiss-based body dismissed the athlete's challenge.

Despite the ruling, the CAS stressed that Murofushi's "reputation and sportsmanship were intact".

The CAS dismissed Chu Mu-Yens appeal in MarchThe CAS dismissed Chu Mu-Yen's appeal in March

Similarly, Chu's appeal to the CAS was dismissed in March this year.

Both Chu and Murofushi had polled enough votes to win seats on the IOC Athletes' Commission but these were instead filled by Slovakian Danka Barteková, Australia's James Tomkins, Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry and Tony Estanguet of France.

The IOC issued a statement praising the CAS ruling.

"The IOC welcomes the CAS decision and looks forward to working with Danka Barteková, James Tomkins, Kirsty Coventry and Tony Estanguet, who are expected to be proposed by the IOC EB for election at the July 2013 Extraordinary Session in Lausanne following expiry of the 28-day appeal period," it read.

JOC President Tsunekazu Takeda admitted that although he was disappointed by the outcome, he respected the CAS ruling and is awaiting the reasons for the decision.

"While we regret the outcome, we fully acknowledge and respect the ruling by the CAS," he explained.

"The CAS has yet to announce the reasons for its decision.

"As a result, the JOC will refrain from making any comments until receiving further details on the award."

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