Rodchenkov Act: Okagbare, others risk 10 years jail, $1 million if found guilty
Okagbare had been provisionally suspended for testing positive for human growth hormone in July 2021
When on December 5, 2020, former U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law a bill giving U.S. authorities the power to prosecute individuals responsible for doping at international sporting competitions involving American athletes, sponsors, or broadcasters nobody thought our queen of athletics, fleet-footed Blessings Okagbare may be one of the first athletes to fall victim.
In December 2020 Trump signed the Rodchenkov Act, which passed Congress December 4 despite international opposition, including from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The law, named after whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, who lifted the lid on state-sponsored doping in Russia, empowers U.S. prosecutors to seek fines of up to $1 million and jail terms of up to 10 years, as well as restitution to victims.
"The Rodchenkov anti-doping act is now law and part of the United States criminal code, giving the Department of Justice a powerful and unique set of tools to eradicate doping fraud and related criminal activities from international competitions," said Jim Walden, Rodchenkov's lawyer, in a statement.
WADA, which has the authority to sanction athletes for doping, has expressed concern over the legislation, warning it could lead to a patchwork of laws that weaken the principle of having one set of rules for all athletes around the world.
"No nation has ever before asserted criminal jurisdiction over doping offences that occurred outside its national borders -- and for good reason," the agency said last month after the bill passed the Senate.
The International Olympic Committee has also questioned why American professional and college athletes are exempt.
In the last twenty-four Sportsnow.com.ng has published details of text messages exchanged between Okagbare and Eric Lira a kinesiologist and naturopathic doctor already charged with supplying athletes with performance-enhancing drugs.
Lira, from Texas, was charged for distributing performances enhancing substances, human growth hormone (HGH) and EPO to Olympic athletes.
The criminal complaint identifies 33-year-old Okagbare only as “athlete 1”, but it includes details, including her performances in specific races, that make it clear she was one of Lira’s clients.
Okagbare had been provisionally suspended for testing positive for human growth hormone in July 2021 – in an out-of-competition test – just hours before the former world championships silver medalist was due to run in the semifinals of the women’s 100 meters at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Athletics Integrity Unit last year said Okagbare also had tested positive for a blood booster in Nigeria in June.
She was charged with failing to cooperate with the investigation after she disobeyed an order to produce “documents, records and electronic storage devices” in relation to the other charges, the AIU said at the time.
The criminal complaint alleges that Lira brought “misbranded” versions of the drugs to the United States from Central and South America before distributing them to athletes.
Federal authorities searched Okagbare’s cellphone as she was returning to the United States from Tokyo and found she had frequently communicated with Lira over an encrypted app, according to the complaint.
“Is it safe to take a test this morning?” Okagbare wrote in one message to Lira.
“Remember I took it Wednesday and then yesterday again. I wasn’t sure so I didn’t take a test.”
In another exchange, Okagbare wrote to Lira that she had just run the 100m in 10.63 seconds. “Eric my body feel so good,” she wrote. “Whatever you did is working so well.”
“You are doing your part and you will be ready to dominate,” Lira wrote to the athlete. The charges against Lira were brought under the Rodchenkov Act, a law signed in 2020 that prohibits “any person, other than an athlete” to knowingly influence any “major international sports competition” with the use of prohibited substance.
