A bizarre doping incident involving top kayakers that came to light Jan. 9 has left a stain on Japan's reputation for clean athletics.

The incident — Tokyo Olympic hopeful Yasuhiro Suzuki lacing the drink of rival Seiji Komatsu with an anabolic steroid — has made an especially strong impact in the run-up to 2020, and is shedding light on the importance of supervision and mental care as the games draw near.

Suzuki, 32, apparently felt threatened by the rise of younger athletes and purchased a pill containing the prohibited substance methandienone while abroad. He has confessed to spiking 25-year-old Komatsu's drink at the national canoe sprint championships in September, causing him to fail a drug test. Komatsu was slapped with an eight-year ban from competition by the Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA).