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Blessing Okagbare banned for 10 years over doping.
Nigeria’s Queen of Track, Blessing Okagbare has been banned for 10-year over doping violations and refusal to cooperate with the Athletics Integrity Unit, AIU.
Five years is for the presence and use of multiple prohibited substances while the other five additional years is for her refusal to co-operate with the AIU’s investigation.
The 33 year Okagbare was a medal contender for the women’s 100m at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after an impressive run of form.
She ran a wind-assisted 10.63 seconds at the Nigerian trials in June, before winning her heat in Tokyo in 11.05.
Okagbare then “tested positive for human growth hormone” on 19 July, ruling her out of the semi-finals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The use of HGH was found in an out-of-competition sample collected on July 19 before it was reported to the AIU on July 30, the day upon which Okagbare won her 100m heat at the Olympics. She was then provisionally suspended one day after that race and forced to fly home from Tokyo.
The AIU also stated that Okagbare “failed to comply with a formal requirement to produce relevant documents, records and electronic storage requirements by September 15”.
She denied all charges and the case was heard by an independent Disciplinary Tribunal.
