Sports

AIU slams Nigerian athlete, Grace Nwokocha with three-year ban for doping

Published

7 months ago

October 27, 2023

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has banned another Nigerian athlete, Grace Nwokocha for three years after she failed a drug test at the Birmingham 2022 World Championships.

The World Athletics Federation also stripped Nigeria of the
Commonwealth Games relay gold medal which Nwokocha was a part of.

In a statement announcing the ban on Friday, the AIU said the 100m and 200m athlete was banned for the “Presence/Use of Prohibited Substances Ostarine and Ligandrol.”

The statement said the Nigerian sprinter “has been banned by the Athletics Integrity Unit for three years after being found guilty of a doping violation during Birmingham 2022.”

It explained that Nwokocha’s ban was a result of the “positive InCompetition sample returned during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where the Commonwealth Games Federation (“CGF”) in accordance with the Anti-Doping Rules for the 2022 Commonwealth Games (the “CGF ADR”), found an Adverse Analytical Finding for Ostarine and Dihydroxy-LGD4033 (a Metabolite of Ligandrol) which are Non-Specified substances, prohibited at all times.”

“Following this, her results in the 100m on 3 August 2022 and in the 200m on 4 August 2022 have been disqualified, together with the forfeiture of any medals, diplomas, titles, points, and prizes.

“Consequently, Nigeria’s result in the women’s 4x100m relay in which Nwokocha anchored them to the gold medal in an African Record of 42.05s is nullified, and silver medal-winning Great Britain now upgraded to gold,” the statement said.

In her defence during a hearing before the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Court in May, Nwokocha had said the positive test had been caused by cross-contamination, claiming that an unnamed team-mate had drank from her bottle of Lucozade during training at the Athletes Village.

This defence was rejected with the CGF Court finding her guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, and disqualifying her individual and team results at Birmingham 2022.

However, in July, Nwokocha had acknowledged she had committed anti-doping rule violations and agreed to a three-year suspension with the start of her ban backdated to August 3, 2022, the date the positive sample was collected, and will run through to August 2, 2025.

Related Topics:AIU Ban Doping Featured Grace Nwokocha

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Sports

Zambia’s women national team coach face new sexual assault allegation

Published

10 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Zambia women national team coach, Bruce Mwape, is facing new allegations of sexual assault and misconduct at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, prompting an investigation by world football governing body, FIFA.

Mwape who is currently facing allegations of sexual harassment after some of his players laid accusations against him, has been accused by a female FIFA contractor of inappropriately touching her breast during the tournament.

A report on the Fifa website disclosed that the body received an official complaint accusing the 64-year-old Mwape of touching the breast of a FIFA contractor from New Zealand.

The complainant is quoted to have told Fifa officials that Mwape had inappropriately touched her breasts in a suggestive manner.

“I remember him putting his hand on my shoulder to say ‘Good morning,’ but then he went again and wiped his hand straight down the front, obviously touching my boob,” the contractor reportedly said.

“It happened so quickly. It felt wrong to me but I also questioned whether it had just been a mistake. But after that, his relationship with me was very different. So I think he knew what he had done was not appropriate,” the unnamed contractor added.

The incident, according to the report, allegedly occurred while the team was staying at an Auckland hotel before their match against Spain.

Sports

Botswanan Tebogo hits at Kenyan Omanyala over claims of being African sprint king

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Botswanan sprint sensation,
Letsile Tebogo, has hit back at Kenyan 100m champion, Ferdinand Omanyala, over claims that he is the king of African sprint.

Omanyala, in an Track and Field network in April, had laid claims to being the true king of Africa in sprints having risen to prominence in 2021 when he set the record as the fastest man in the continent when he ran 9.77 at the 3rd edition of the Absa Kip Keino classic.

The following year, Omanyala won the 2022 African title in Mauritius, as well as the 100m gold at the Commonwealth Games, feats he believes bestows on him the title of Africa’s king of the sprint.

Though it has not been all rosy for the 28-year-old Omanyala as he has faltered at some big stages having failed to make the final of the Olympic games in Tokyo in 2021 and finished a disappointing seventh at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last year, he still believes he is head and shoulders above other African stars.

On the other hand, 20-year-old Tebogo has already scored medals in both the 100 and 200m races at the highest stage, which has given him the right to question Omanyala’s claims

“I do not have anything to say. Everything will reveal itself as time goes on,” Tebogo said in an interview with the same Track and Field network on Tuesday.

“To me, it does not make sense if you are the African champion, but where it mattered the most, he could not step in,” he added.

Tebogo who has proven his mettle in the 200m which he claims is the easiest race to compete in, believes it should also be used as a gauge to test the fastest men in the continent apart from just the 100m.

“The 100 is very tactical. Any day can be your day. I believe we should include both races,” he added.