By Duncan Mackay

European judo champion Loic Korval has been banned for 10 months after missing three doping tests ©Getty ImagesFrance has suspended European judo champion Loic Korval for 10 months after he missed three doping tests, it was announced today.


It means that the 26-year-old from Paris will not be able to defend the under 66 kilogram title he won in Montpellier last year at the 2015 European Championships in Baku, putting in jeopardy his chances of competing at Rio 2016.

Korval has decided not to appeal against the suspension, which has been backdated to October 22 last year and is due to expire on August 22. 

Under the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Korval could have been banned for two years.

Loic Korval (in blue) on his way to winning the gold medal in the under 66 kilogram category at the 2014 European Judo Championships in Montpellier ©AFP/Getty ImagesLoic Korval (in blue) on his way to winning the gold medal in the under 66 kilogram category at the 2014 European Judo Championships in Montpellier ©AFP/Getty Images

"The penalty is heavy," Jean-Claude Senaud, national technical director of the French Judo Federation, told L'Equipe. 

 "When you have 26 years, the years are longer than when 20-years-old.

"A year before the Olympics, this is a significant sentence."

Korval, a bronze medallist at the 2010 World Judo Championships in Tokyo, however, is refusing rule out competing at next year's Olympics. 

"I know that mistakes can have heavy consequences, but I'm not giving up," he told L'Equipe.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected] 


Related stories
April 2014: France enjoy golden first day of European Judo Championships