June 28, (THEWILL) – The Athletics Integrity Unit of World Athletics, has extended the suspension slammed on erstwhile African Queen of Sprint, Blessing Okagbare, by a year.
THEWILL recalls that Okagbare was banned for a total of 10 years by the Disciplinary Tribunal of World Athletics, according to the AIU in February. Of the 10-year ban, five years were for the possession and usage of several prohibited substances and five years for refusing to cooperate with the AIU’s investigation into her case.
The case’s sole arbitrator determined that the athlete’s use of multiple prohibited substances as part of an organised doping regimen in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympic Games, was egregious conduct that amounted to aggravating circumstances under the rules, necessitating an additional period of ineligibility beyond the standard four-year sanction.
The arbitrator also decided that the athlete’s reluctance to cooperate had deprived the AIU the opportunity to discover evidence of her probable subsequent rule violations as well as possible rule violations by others, for which he imposed a five-year extra sentence.
This has now been extended by a year after it was discovered that Okagbare had broken more anti-doping rule infractions. Once again, the 33-year-old is said to have hindered, interfered with, or tried to interfere with the doping control procedure leading to a new anti-doping rule infraction this month and the extension of her ban.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
