The Italian Anti-Doping Agency (NADO) has imposed an 18-month ban on shot putter Nick Ponzio for failing to attend three random doping tests. All athletes are required to attend these tests. The NADO said in a statement that his sanction will begin on 28 February 2023 and end on 27 August 2024, meaning that even if he wanted to return to competition, he would not be able to compete at Paris 2024.

The anti-doping code of conduct states that no athlete can miss three random tests without a proven and official reason. Earlier this year, the shot putter was suspended for 12 months and on Wednesday 20 December he agreed to an 18-month ban.

The basis for the sanction imposed on the athlete is Article 2.4 of the Anti-Doping Code, which refers to "the athlete's failure to disclose his whereabouts". The shot putter continued to maintain that it was his mobile phone that was not working and that he could not be located. Therefore, when the sanction is enforced on 28 February, all of his results during the sanction period will be removed from his list of achievements.

Ponzio, who was born in San Diego but obtained Italian citizenship, competed for Italy at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 and was eliminated in the first round. His best result was a fourth-place finish at the European Championships in 2022. In the same year, however, he achieved the second-best Italian indoor time of 21.61, which made him a contenders for Paris 2024. However, his announcement of retirement at the beginning of 2023 suggested that his presence at the Paris event would be remote.