Athletics: Okagbare doping case disqualifies Nigerian relay team from world Championships

Sprinter Blessing Okagbare’s doping violations will keep her Nigerian teammates from participating in the 4×100 meter relay at next month’s world championships.

The Athletics Integrity Unit, which oversees doping cases in track, announced Monday it was extending Okagbare’s 10-year ban by a year, and making it retroactive to June 13, 2021.

READ ALSO:Rangers agree fee for Antonio Colak with PAOK

That’s six days before she competed at Nigeria’s Olympic trials, with her relay squad qualifying for this year’s worlds.

Okagbare tested positive for blood booster EPO in Nigeria in June 2021, in addition to another failed test for human growth hormone in Slovakia in July 2021. She was provisionally banned from Tokyo only hours before she was set to race in the 100-meter semifinals.