Popular Nigerian sprinter, Blessing Okagbare has been banned for ten years for breaching multiple anti-doping rules.
According to a statement released by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) on Friday, the Nigerian got a five-year ban for the presence and use of multiple prohibited substances and another half-a-decade for her refusal to cooperate with the body’s investigation of her case.
The sole arbitrator adjudicating the case concluded that the athlete’s use of multiple prohibited substances as part of an organised doping regimen in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympic Games was “egregious conduct that amounted to aggravating circumstances under the Rules thereby warranting an additional period of ineligibility on top of the standard four–year sanction“.
The sole arbitrator also recognised the AIU’s right to carry out investigations, including the imaging of electronic devices, and to impose sanctions when an athlete refuses to co–operate with an investigation and thereby frustrates the AIU’s ability to fulfil its mandate to protect the integrity of the sport of athletics. In this instance, the sole arbitrator concluded that the athlete’s refusal to cooperate had denied the AIU the opportunity to discover evidence of possible further rule violations by her as well possible violations of the rules by others, for which he imposed an additional sanction of five years.
“We welcome the decision of the Disciplinary Tribunal; a ban of 10–year 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”, Brett Clothier, Head of the AIU said.
Thelagostimes recalls that Okagbare was expelled from the Tokyo Olympics last year before the women’s 100m semi-finals after testing positive for human growth hormone at an out-of-competition test in Slovakia on July 19.