Tokyo Olympics: Former Long Jump Silver Medalist Okagbare banned after failing drugs test

The ongoing Tokyo Olympics on Saturday witnessed an athlete being found failing the Olympic dope test with Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare being provisionally suspended. The is the first doping case of the Tokyo Olympics and also the first one in the track and field competition, officials said Saturday. The Athletics Integrity Unit had earlier banned 10 Nigerian athletes from competing in the Tokyo Olympics due to failing to meet requirements for out-of-competition testing. Athletics Olympics 2021: Blessing Okagbare fails Olympics Dope test According to reports, Blessing Okagbare has been provisionally suspended after a positive test for human growth hormone. She was due to run in the semifinals of the women’s 100 meters at the Olympics on Saturday. The Athletics Integrity Unit said Okagbare tested positive in an out-of-competition test on July 19. The AIU says it was only informed of the finding on Friday, after Okagbare had already run in the 100-meter heats at the Tokyo Games. The AIU informed Okagbare of the finding and her provisional suspension on Saturday morning. Okagbare won her heat in 11.05 seconds at the Olympic Stadium to progress to the semis. The 32-year-old Okagbare won a silver medal in the long jump at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2013 world championships. She also collected a bronze in the 200 meters at the 2013 worlds in Moscow behind gold medal winner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who is the favourite for the 100 m title in Tokyo. The women’s 100 final is the last event on the Olympic track schedule on Saturday. The AIU has provisionally suspended Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria, with immediate effect after an out-of-competition sample collected from the sprinter tested positive for human Growth Hormone, a prohibited substance on the 2021 WADA Prohibited List. ⬇️https://t.co/qjMyEDfwTY pic.twitter.com/c4opDQdccv — Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) July 30, 2021 Earlier, Blessing Okagbare had tweeted regarding the sam in which she wrote, "I have said it before and I will say it again. If you do not know the sport, not passionate about it/Us [the athletes], then you have no business there as an administrator. The sport system in Nigeria is so flawed and we athletes, are always at the receiving end of the damages. They were busy fighting over power, exercising their pride over puma contract/ kits forgetting their major responsibility 'THE ATHLETES'. It's sad that this cycle keeps repeating its self and some people will come out to say I am arrogant for speaking my truth. It is my CAREER." Olympics dope test: AIU Bans 20 athletes Earlier on Wednesday, the Athletics Integrity Unit said in a statement that it banned 20 athletes from competing in the Tokyo Olympics due to anti-doping rules. While the names of the athletes were not released but it is learnt that the list included 10 from Nigeria, three from Belarus, one from Ethiopia, two from Kenya, one from Morocco and three from Ukraine. Three athletes from Bahrain were also closely monitored, but all three were permitted to compete. Image: @mountain214 / Twitter

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Tokyo Olympics: Former Long Jump Silver Medalist Okagbare banned after failing drugs test

Olympics Dope Test: Blessing Okagbare has been provisionally suspended after positive test for human growth hormone in out-of-competition test on July 19.

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