said Saturday the organization will provide the International Ski Federation (FIS) with Yuichi Onda's medical history as he failed a blood test and faces a five-day suspension from the ongoing Nordic World Ski Championships.
The SAJ will send Onda's past blood test reports and doctor's certifications and ask that the FIS take immediate action and clear the case, which made the 24-year-old the first Japanese to be banned from a skiing event since the FIS blood testing protocol was introduced in the 1996-1997 season.
"We're appealing in order to prove that Onda's high blood count was the result of his physical condition and nothing posed by external substances," said SAJ official Shohei Onishi.
On Wednesday, Onda, who was scheduled to compete in the men's cross country in the meet in Germany, failed a FIS blood test due to a high hemoglobin count. He denied any connection with blood doping.
Onda is suspended from the Feb. 17-27 competition until Monday, when he is expected to take a second test. If his hemoglobin count is within the FIS limit, he will be able to compete in the 1.2-km sprint race, which starts Tuesday.