Long jumper accused of false information to get Olympic spot

MONACO (AP) — A long jumper and two officials from Albania could face bans after they were accused of submitting false information that helped the athlete get a spot at the Tokyo Olympics last year. The Athletics Integrity Unit says it has charged long jumper Izmir Smajlaj, Albanian track federation president Gjegj Ruli and the federation’s general secretary Nikolin Dionisi with disciplinary offenses over a competition held in Albania in May 2021. That was two months before the Tokyo Olympics. Smajlaj was named as the competition winner with a national-record jump of 8.16 meters but the AIU says false information was allegedly used to support that result.