AIU suspends Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare for 10 years for doping

Nigeria's multiple medal winner at the continental and global level, Blessing Okagbare, has been suspended for 10 long years by the Disciplinary Tribunal of the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).

Blessing was provisionally suspended on July 31 last year. She was scheduled to compete in the semi-finals of the Tokyo 2020 women’s 100m. Subsequently, in accordance with Rule 12 of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules, the 33-year-old was charged with refusal to co-operate with the AIU’s investigation into her case.

According to AIU, an independent body of World Athletics that is overseeing global anti-doping violations, the Nigerian faces a five-year suspension for the presence and use of multiple prohibited substances. AIU’s Disciplinary Tribunal has also slapped another five-year penalty for her refusal to cooperate with the AIU’s investigation into her case.

“We welcome the decision of the Disciplinary Tribunal," Brett Clothier, Head of the AIU, said. "The 10-year ban is a strong message against intentional and coordinated 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."

At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Blessing won silver in women’s long jump. Five years later at the 2013 World Athletics Championships, she won silver in long jump and bronze in 200m.

“The sole arbitrator adjudicating the case concluded that the athlete’s use of multiple prohibited substances as part of an organized doping regimen in the lead up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games,” an AIU release said. “Under the Rules thereby warranting an additional period of ineligibility on top of the standard four-year sanction.”

The sole arbitrator also recognized the AIU’s right to carry out investigations and impose sanctions when an athlete refuses to co-operate and thereby frustrates the AIU’s ability to fulfill its mandate to protect the integrity of the sport.

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 as others. For that reason, he imposed an additional sanction of five years.

On October 7 last year, the AIU pressed charges against Blessing in relation to separate disciplinary matters for the presence and use of multiple (two) prohibited substances - Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and recombinant erythropoietin (EPO).

The athlete has the right to appeal against the Disciplinary Tribunal’s decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 30 days.