Athletics
From bad to worse for Nigeria at Tokyo Olympics as star sprinter, Okagbare fails drug test
It has turned a weird Olympic dream for Nigeria as things are fast moving from bad to worse for the country at the on-going Olympic Games. Track and field’s drug-testing agency has temporarily suspended Blessing Okagbare Nigeria’s biggest medal hope.
It is the first drug-related suspension of an active athlete at the Tokyo Games.
In a statement, the Athletics Integrity Unit, which runs the anti-doping program for the sport, said a sample collected from the sprinter, Blessing Okagbare, during an out-of-competition test July 19 had tested positive for growth hormones.
Okagbare, 32, won her opening heat in the women’s 100m on Friday in 11.05sec and had been scheduled to run in the semi-finals on Saturday (July 31).
Okagbare’s suspension was not the first testing-related problem for Nigeria’s track and field competitors at these Games.
On Thursday, the Athletics Integrity Unit declared 20 Olympic track and field athletes ineligible to compete because they had not met out-of-competition testing requirements leading up to the Olympics. Of the 20 athletes, 10 were from Nigeria.
The Athletic Federation of Nigeria, the governing body for sports in the country, issued a statement attributing the problem to an administrative failure and not to any positive tests for banned substances. The athletes were declared ineligible to compete because they had not completed the required three out-of-competition tests, the organisation said.
“The AFN bears responsibility for any lapses that may have occurred during the process and reassures Nigerians that our performances will not be negatively impacted,” the organisation said.
In a separate statement, the country’s ministry of sport also clarified that none of the 10 athletes in question had tested positive for a banned substance.
Chioma Onyekwere, a Nigerian discus thrower who is ranked No. 16 in the world and whose event was scheduled for Saturday, was among those disqualified.
She said she and her teammates who were affected by the ruling had learned of the news Thursday night from officials with the country’s Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and the Athletic Federation of Nigeria.
“I think we were all shocked,” Onyekwere said.
“Everyone was in disbelief that this could be happening.”
On Friday, all 10 of the athletes who had been disqualified from the Games held a protest in Tokyo, where they walked through the Olympic Village with signs that read “All we wanted to do is compete” and “Why should we suffer because of someone else’s negligence?”
“It is a painful thing to be at your peak and not be able to compete,” Onyekwere, 23, said from her room in the Olympic Village as she watched her competition live on her computer.
Already the Nigerian record-holder in women’s discus, Onyekwere had wanted to break the African record at the Games, she said.
Tokyo would have marked the Olympic debut of all 10 Nigerian athletes.
“It hurts,” Chidi Okezie, who had been set to compete in the 4x400m mixed relay, said in a message, adding a broken heart emoji.
Now, because they are not competing, the athletes have to leave Tokyo on Sunday.
On Thursday, before Okagbare’s suspension was announced, the youth and sports ministry issued a statement saying that 12 athletes from the country’s track and field team had been cleared to participate in the Games.
The world’s anti-doping organisations have long struggled to oversee consistent testing across numerous countries, a challenge made worse by the pandemic. In the months before the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, more than 1,900 athletes across 10 key sports – including track and field, weightlifting and cycling – were not tested, a failure that anti-doping officials vowed would not be repeated in the next Olympic cycle.
BY DAPO SOTUMINU
Nigeria’s Francis James and Blessing Shambaz yesterday emerged winners of the 2nd Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10km Race to go home with the winners prize money of $1,000 in a race that was officially flagged off by the First vice president of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, Chief Solomon Ogba, and supported by Mr. Nadin Khan, the president of the World Ultra Running.
James won the men’s race finishing at 30minutes 11seconds to beat all opponents to consolidate on his victory in Abuja when he finished second best in the half marathon held in the Federal Capital Territory middle of the year.
James also emerged the Nigeria’s winner of the World class half marathon.
It will be recalled that James at his last major race in Abuja finished second place in a national half marathon race. He stressed that he used that race to prepare for the Lotus Bank Abeokuta Race and he was very happy winning the race.
He stressed that, the victory at Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10m Race has given him the confidence to do better in others races coming up in Nigeria and its an indication, that he’s very close to making history for Nigeria in subsequent marathon races. He added that, Nigerian runners will pull surprise in the others races not minding the attendance of the East Africans.
In second place for the men’s race is Gyang Raymond at a time of 30 minutes 14 seconds. Gyang got $750 for his effort. While the third place winner is Gyang David Boyi at 30 minutes 54 seconds. Boyi got a cash prize of $500.
In the women 10km race, the runners up that placed second was Daylop Patience at a time of 36minutes 98.28seconds to keep her position in last year’s edition. She got $750.
Third place winner is Agofure Charity at 37minutes 88 seconds.She got $500.
The overall 10km also saw the race by special athletes.
The route of the Lotus Bank Abeokuta Race wore a very active look this morning with the active presence of Febbs table water, a part sponsor of the event.
The volunteers on each points on the route all had Febbs Water on their hands ready to hand them over the runners. The organisers decorated all the runners that crossed the finish line with gold medals, this added to the fanfare and celebrations at the Alake Palace finish line of the race.
The Diamond League will increase its prize money to more than $9 million in 2025, the highest in the history of the series, the organisers have said.
Athletes will make a total of $18 million, with top athletes also receiving promotional fees. Male and female athletes will be paid at the same rate, the Diamond League said in a statement.
“The new total is almost a third higher than the sum paid during the pandemic-affected period of 2021-2024,” the statement said, adding that more will be invested in the athletes’ travel, transport, accommodation, medical and physio services.
Each of the 14 Diamond League meets of the 2025 regular season, scheduled to kick off in April, will award a total prize money of $500,000, with the final in August offering $2.24 million.
“The total prize money per discipline will be between $30,000 and $50,000 at the series meetings and between $60,000 and $100,000 at the final,” the statement added.
The Diamond League’s 2024 season concluded in Brussels last week, with Zurich set to host the 2025 final.
The news comes after World Athletics ended a 128-year tradition by paying Olympic champions at the Paris Games $50,000 each and as rival track events try to muscle in on the circuit long seen as the standard-bearer for professional athletics.
Retired American sprinting great Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track will offer prize money ranging from $100,000 for the winner to $10,000 for the eighth-place finisher at each of four “slams” when the league launches next year.
It will distribute a total of $12.6 million in prize money in 2025.
“In a league of our own,” Grand Slam Track wrote in a post on X, opens new tab on Wednesday, with a breakdown of their prize money.
-Reuters
A record 6,000 runners, local and international from across the African continent and Nigeria have registered for the second edition of the Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10km Run slated for September 28, 2024, as the organisers, Nilayo Sports Management Limited guns for a bronze label status for the race.
The Chief Operating Officer of Nilayo Sports Management Limited, Ebidowie Oweifie, noted that the theme of this year’s edition of the Abeokuta 10km Race titled ‘For Greatness’ out is out to commemorate the birthday anniversary of the Egba paramount ruler, the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo 111, the 10km Run will flag off at Iyana Oloke at 6am and finish at The Alake Palace, Abeokuta.
Kenya’s Peter Nwaniki is the men’s race defending champion at a time of 28 minutes 14 seconds, while Shamila Kipsirir also of Kenya is the women’s defending champion.
Nigeria’s race men’s defending champion is Francis James at 31minutes 08seconds, while the women’s defending champion is Patience Daylop at 36 minutes 31 seconds.
The second edition of Abeokuta10km Race will be sponsored by Lotus Bank, FEBBS Premium Water, Fatgbems Petroleum Limited and Cash Token.
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