Qatar's Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Thani is now among the 350 people in the world to complete the Seven Summits challenge.

Al Thani climbed the seven highest mountain peaks on seven continents in 28 days, completing the journey earlier this month on June 3 on Mount Denali in Alaska where he raised Qatar's flag.

"Like other adventurers taking on demanding challenges, I have encountered several risks and difficulties, but success in reaching these peaks has made all the effort worthwhile," Al Thani said in a statement to Qatar Foundation .

Al Thani began the seven summits challenge back in 2009. His first climb to ever be completed was Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa in 2010. Following this, Al Thani climbed Vinson Massif in Antarctica in 2011, Mount Elbrus in Europe and Mount Kosciuszko in Australia in 2012, Mount Aconcagua in South America and Mount Everest in Asia in 2013, and finally accomplished Mount Denali in Alaska in 2016.

“I believe we must set our targets high and dedicate ourselves to pursuing them despite all obstacles, because beautiful and great things in one’s life do not come easily,” he added.

Yet another entry has been added to the long list of obstacles challenging the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games, Rio de Janeiro, which is struggling with political chaos, health warnings, infrastructure problems and financial difficulties . The World Anti-Doping Agency recently announced the provisional suspension of the Brazilian Doping Control Laboratory’s accreditation. The decision was triggered by the lab’s non-conformity with the International Standard for Laboratories, though the specific shortcomings have not been released.

The Brazilian lab, based in Rio and in charge of testing 2016 Olympic athletes, is therefore prohibited from conducting anti-doping tests. The samples it is responsible for will be transferred to another WADA-accredited facility to be determined soon. According to BBC Sports, the alternative lab nearest to Rio is located in Colombia, 4,506 km away.

“This is another severe blow,” Mario Andrada, the spokesman of the Rio Olympics’ organizing committee, said according to The Guardian . “We might not resolve this lab situation before the Games. We might have to choose another lab outside Brazil to do the tests. But this will be under the instruction and guidance of WADA.”

Meanwhile, Brazilian officials are optimistic that the issue can be resolved before the Games in August.

“The lab expects its operations to return to normal in July after a visit from WADA’s technical committee,” the laboratory said in a statement.

Brazil’s Ministry of Sports also issued a statement that the institution would do all whatever was necessary for the suspension to be lifted in time.

The lab has 21 days to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. WADA will soon form a disciplinary committee to review the case and recommend a verdict concerning the lab’s accreditation status.

The sanction will be effective for six months, unless it is lifted or the lab's accreditation is revoked beforehand by the WADA Executive Committee or its chairman, based on the recommendation of Disciplinary Committee for the International Standard for Laboratories.

This is not the first time that WADA has banned the Brazilian lab, whose accreditation was suspended and then revoked in 2013 for falling below the agency’s standards. The ban was still in effect during Brazil’s 2014 World Cup, costing FIFA hundreds of thousands of dollars to fly the athletes’ samples to a WADA-accredited facility in Switzerland. The Brazilian doping control lab was also prohibited from IRMS testing in 2012 after falsely accusing a Brazilian athlete of doping. This year’s suspension came in a delicate timing once again, with the 2016 Olympic opening ceremonies less than two months away.

WADA’s incoming director general, Olivier Niggli, assured that the integrity of the doping control system will not be risked.

“Athletes can have confidence that the suspension will only be lifted by WADA when the Laboratory is operating optimally; and that, the best solution will be put in place to ensure that sample analysis for the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games is robust,” he said.

WADA has actually suspended the accreditation of several doping control laboratories this year, including labs in Madrid, Beijing and Lisbon. The agency, assisted by the International Olympic Committee, has been mercilessly battling against doping to assure fair competition at the Rio Olympics, especially in the light of the increasing number of proven doping cases from the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. WADA has also been pressuring athletes heading to Rio 2016 with continuous drug tests and imposing severe penalties in case of positive testing.