Tokyo Olympics: Nigeria’s Adegoke zooms into 100m semis; AFN expresses shock over Kagbare’s suspension for doping rule violation
Team Nigeria’s Enoch Adegoke, Saturday, blitzed to a new lifetime best of 9.98 seconds in the men’s 100 metres as he advanced to the semi-finals of the blue riband event.
Adegoke, whose previous personal best was 10.00s, finished ahead of a strong field that included Trayvon Bromell, the fastest in the world this year and favourite to win the Olympic men’s 100m gold.
Bromell, who posted 9.77s last month and arrived in Tokyo as the man most likely to regain the 100m title for the US for the first time since 2004, finished a disappointing fourth in a time of 10.05s.
Adegoke’s compatriot Usheoritse Itsekiri also progressed to the semis after finishing third in his heat in a time of 10.15s.
But it wasn’t all good news for Team Nigeria as the country’s fastest man Divine Oduduru was disqualified in his 100m heat.
Oduduru, who has a personal best of 9.86, was disqualified after a false start.
The semi-finals and finals both take place on Sunday in Tokyo.
Meanwhile on Okagbare’s suspension, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, says it received with great shock the press release by the Athletics Integrity Unit, AIU, suspending Blessing Okagbare for a doping rule violation.
The Federation, in a statement, says it is in the process of obtaining the relevant details of the announcement after which a full reaction will be issued.
The AIU in the press release says the Nigerian 100/200m record holder has been provisionally suspended with immediate effect after a sample collected from the 32 years old tested positive for Human Growth Hormone.
Growth Hormone is a non-specified substance on the 2021 World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, Prohibited List, and a provisional suspension is mandatory following an adverse analytical finding for such substance under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules.
The AIU says it collected the sample from Okagbare during an out-of-competition test on 19 July and revealed the WADA-accredited laboratory that analysed the sample notified the AIU of the adverse analytical finding at mid-day Central European Time yesterday, Friday 30 July.
Okagbare was notified of the adverse analytical finding and of her provisional suspension Saturday morning in Tokyo. She was scheduled to participate in the semi-finals of the women’s 100m Saturday evening in Tokyo.
