AIU Extends Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare 10-Year Ban

The Athletics Integrity Unit(AIU) has extended the ban on Nigeria’s 2008 long jump silver medalist Blessing Okagbare to 11 years for doping violations

Recall that Blessing who is a Nigerian sprinter was previously suspended for 10 years for doping in February 2022.

However, the AIU in a document obtained on Monday added one additional year to Okagbare’s ban after she allegedly failed to respond to the charges by the extended deadline -June 21, 2022.

According to a copy of the document obtained by our correspondent, Okagbare is deemed to have admitted the anti-doping rule violations (under Rule 2.3 and Rule 2.5 of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules) and to have accepted the consequences.

The 33-year-old, 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.

Okagbare was a medal contender for the women’s 100m at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after an impressive run of form.

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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.

An Olympic silver medalist in the long jump in Beijing 2008 and World Championship silver medalist at Moscow 2013, she also holds the Commonwealth Games record of 10.85 in the women’s 100m from Glasgow 2014.