Breaking: AIU Extends Okagbare’s  Ban To 11 Years

By Akinwale Kasali

Sensational Nigeria Sprinter, Blessing Okagbare ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit, AIU has been extended to 11 years. The Nigerian sprint sensation had earlier been banned for 10 years by the athletic governing body.

The Commonwealth Gold Medalist was punished for evading sample collection, and tampering with the doping control process, the AIU said in a statement late Monday night of June 27, 2022.

It would be recalled that in February 2022, a 10-year-ban was handed down to Okagbare by the body after she was found guilty of doping. The ban, has however, been extended by one year.

Okagbare was suspended on July 31, 2021 from the semi-finals of the women’s 100m of the last Olympic Games in Tokyo.

AIU announced that the double Commonwealth Games sprint winner had tested positive for human growth hormones.

Further investigation of the case by FBI revealed that Okagbare was involved in an orchestrated doping plot involving a US-based “naturopathic” therapist Eric Lira.