*Athletics Integrity Unit extends her ban now to 11 years
Duro Ikhazuagbe
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) yesterday announced that banned Nigerian sprinter, Blessing Okagbare, 32, has been found to have committed additional anti-doping rule violations – specifically evading sample collection, and tampering or attempted tampering with the doping control process.For this, Okagbare’s current 10-year ban from athletics has been extended by one year (now 11 years in total). Sadly for Nigeria, this decision against the former Nigerian and African champion, the country has lost the opportunity to field her ladies for the women’s 4x100m relay at next month’s World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA. “This is because six days after Okagbare evaded sample collection (13 June 2021), she competed in the 4x100m relay event at the Nigeria Olympic Trials, with her relay squad qualifying for this year’s World Championships,” observed the AIU last night.
“Therefore, all individual and relay results involving Okagbare, from 13 June 2021, are now disqualified under the rules,” concludes the statement from AIU last night. Okagbare was suspended on July 31, 2021 from the semi finals of the women’s 100m of the last Olympic Games in Tokyo. On the even of the event last year in Tokyo, AIU announced that the double Commonwealth Games sprint winner in Glasgow had tested positive for human growth hormones. Further investigation of the case by FBI revealed that Okagbare was involved in an orchestrated doping plot involving a US-based “naturopathic” therapist Eric Lira. United States Department of Justice under the Rodchenkov Act picked Mr Lira for his involvement in supply of performance-enhancing drugs to athletes. Okagbare’s telephone exchanges with Lira were obtained by the FBI. Initial plans to prosecute her for criminal offenses were later dropped by the American Justice Department but this lengthy ban has sort of called time on her illustrious track & field career. Before the running into this dope matter that has now truncated her career, Okagbare won a silver medal in the long jump at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and at the 2013 world championships, the Nigerian track queen also collected a silver in the long jump as well as a bronze in the 200m at the 2013 worlds in Moscow behind gold medal winner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
