Athletics Integrity Unit bans Blessing Okagbare for 10 years

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has banned Nigerian sprinter, Blessing Okagbare, for 10 years for being part of an “organized doping regimen” ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

The Unit made this known via a statement on Friday.

The statement partly read: “The Disciplinary Tribunal has banned Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare for a total of 10 years.”

Okagbare, 33, was suspended from the Tokyo Olympics last year before she was due to run in the women’s 100m semi-finals after testing positive for human growth hormone at an out-of-competition test in Slovakia on July 19, 2021.

She had earlier tested positive for blood booster EPO in Nigeria in June.

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AIU, however, noted that a ban of five years was imposed for the presence and use of multiple prohibited substances, adding that the suspension was doubled over Okagbare’s refusal to cooperate with the investigation.

“A ban of 10 year(s) is a strong message against intentional and co-ordinated attempts to cheat at the very highest level of our sport.

“This is an outcome that was driven by our intelligence-led target testing as well as our commitment to investigate the circumstances behind a positive test,” the statement added.

TheStar