100m star in human growth hormone bombshell

Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare was provisionally suspended for doping Saturday, hours earlier she was owed to tally successful the semi-finals of the women's 100 metres astatine the Olympics and connected the time of the final.

Okagbare tested affirmative for quality maturation hormone successful an out-of-competition trial connected July 19, the Athletics Integrity Unit said, prompting a mandatory provisional suspension.

The results of that trial were lone received by way and field's anti-doping assemblage precocious Friday and aft Okagbare had already tally successful the 100 heats connected the opening time of way contention astatine the Olympic Stadium successful Tokyo, the AIU said.

She won her vigor successful 11.05 seconds.

OLYMPICS LIVE BLOG: DAY 8 UPDATES, NEWS | TOKYO GAMES EVENT CENTRE: SCHEDULE, RESULTS, MEDAL TALLY

Blessing Okagbare of Team Nigeria competes during circular 1 of the Women's 100m heats. (Getty)

The AIU informed Okagbare of her suspension connected Saturday morning, it said. Under doping regulations, she is present allowed to petition that a "B" illustration — oregon backup illustration — is tested to double-check the results.

The 32-year-old Okagbare won a metallic medal successful the agelong leap astatine the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2013 satellite championships. She besides collected a bronze successful the 200m astatine the 2013 worlds successful Moscow down golden medal victor Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who is the favourite for the 100 rubric successful Tokyo.

The women's 100 last is the past lawsuit connected the Olympic way docket connected Saturday.

Okagbare's suspension comes 3 days aft the AIU announced that 10 way and tract athletes from Nigeria were among a radical of 20 from assorted countries who were disqualified from competing astatine the Olympics due to the fact that they hadn't met minimum doping trial requirements.

Nigeria is considered a high-risk state by the World Anti-Doping Agency due to the fact that of a brittle anti-doping program. Because of that, Nigerian athletes indispensable person astatine slightest 3 out-of-competition tests successful the 10 months earlier a large championship.

The AIU did not sanction immoderate of those different athletes who were ruled ineligible for the Olympics due to the fact that they didn't conscionable anti-doping requirements.

But, immoderate Nigerian athletes who said they were among those barred protested connected the streets of Tokyo this week and held up signs claiming Nigerian sports and anti-doping authorities were liable for them not gathering the investigating criteria.

There are 7 "Category A" countries for WADA: Belarus, Bahrain, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and Ukraine.

Kenya dropped 2 runners from its Olympic squad conscionable earlier the Tokyo Games opened due to the fact that they had not undergone capable out-of-competition tests successful the build-up to the Olympics.

For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!