Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare was expected to be among the medals in the sprint events.Credit:Getty
Okagbare’s suspension comes only days after 10 other Nigerian athletes were barred from coming into Tokyo Olympics after failing to meet out-of-competition drug testing requirements.
The news comes on the same day that United States Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart branded Russia’s ongoing involvement in the Olympic Games a “horror film” after a British swimmer questioned whether he was racing “clean” athletes.
Luke Greenbank,who on Friday won a bronze behind gold medallist Russian Evgeny Rylov,had supported second-placed Ryan Murphy in voicing strong concerns.
Their outburst came just hours after British MPs and campaigners had branded Russia’s involvement “a sham”,given they remain technically banned for doping violations.
WADA has banned Russia from world sport for four years.Credit:AP
In 2019,the World Anti-Doping Agency banned Russia from all international sport for failures regarding the handing over of lab data. However,Russian athletes not implicated in doping were cleared to compete as neutrals and 335 of them were sent to Tokyo,wearing the traditional red,white and blue.
Renewing calls for an overhaul in the system,Tygart said:“It is barely a rebrand and will do nothing to stop corruption in Russia and likely will embolden others willing to win by any means. This has to serve as yet another call for a new,honest global anti-doping system that lives by Olympic values and has the courage to stand up for fair sport.”