Izuchukwu Okosi
Nigeria’s women 4x100m relay team will not take part in the 2022 World Athletics Championship 4x100m relay event next month in Oregon, USA following extended ban handed to Blessing Okagbare in the wake of her anti-doping violations, reports Prime Business Africa.
The World Athletics Championship holds July 14th to 24th with the Nigerian trials ahead of the Championship holding in Benin City, Edo state over the weekend.
The Athletics Integrity Unit, AIU of the Word Athletics, WA announced that banned Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare has been found to have committed additional anti-doping rule violations – specifically evading sample collection, and tampering or attempted tampering with the doping control process.
While Okagbare has had her current 10-year ban from athletics extended by one year (now 11 years in total), another significant consequence of this decision against her is that Nigeria has lost its potential qualification place for the women’s 4x100m relay at next month’s World Athletics Championships Oregon ’22.
This is because six days after Okagbare evaded sample collection (13 June 2021), she competed in the 4x100m relay event at the Nigeria Olympic Trials, with her relay squad qualifying for this year’s World Championships.
All individual and relay results involving Okagbare, from 13 June 2021, are now disqualified under the rules.
Head of the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), Brett Clothier, is encouraging athletes and entourage to report suspected doping, noting the unscrupulous behaviour of dopers could have damning repercussions for their team-mates and country.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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