Mueez Ajao
– Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare has been handed an extra one-year ban for additional doping violations to add to her existing 10-year suspension.
– The Athletics Integrity Unit charged her with “evading sample collection, and tampering or attempted tampering with the doping control process”.
– In February, the 33-year-old was handed her original ban for “multiple breaches of anti-doping rules”.
Also Read: Too bad: Blessing Okagbare banned for 10 years. Will be 43 when penalty lapses
– She was suspended during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics after failing a drug test.
– As a result of Okagbare’s additional ban, Nigeria has lost its potential qualification place in the women’s 4x100m relay at July’s World Championships in Oregon.
– Six days after she evaded sample collection – on 13 June 2021 – she competed in the relay event at Nigeria’s Olympic trials, helping her team to qualify for the World Championships. However, all results involving Okagbare have now been disqualified.
– “Over the years, we have repeatedly seen how one person’s actions adversely affect team-mates who have trained hard and worked honestly for their results,” AIU head Brett Clothier said in a statement.
– “In this instance, Nigeria has lost an important qualification spot. Those are the rules and we will not compromise on integrity.”
– Okagbare, the 2008 Olympic long jump silver medallist, was a medal contender for the women’s 100m in Tokyo last year and won her heat in 11.05 seconds.
– But she was ruled out of the semi-finals after the AIU said she had tested positive for a human growth hormone following an out-of-competition test on 19 July.
