By Sulaimon Jamiu
The Nigerian women’s 4×100-metre relay team may lose its gold medal won at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games after an athlete returned an A-sample positive doping test.
A member of the quartet, Grace Nwokocha has subsequently been handed a provisional suspension by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for doping.
Other members of the quartert include Tobi Amusan, Favour Ofili, and Rosemary Chukwuma.
Nwokocha who ran Nigeria’s anchor leg in the 4×100 winning women’s relay is included on the list of athletes placed on provisional suspension for various doping offenses.
The athletics body disclosed on its official website on Saturday night that Ostarine and Lingadrol were found in Nwokocha’s sample-A urine collected on August 3, 2022, at the Commonwealth Games.
She will now be under provisional suspension pending the conclusion of investigations.
“In doping cases, a provisional suspension is mandatory under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules following an adverse analytical finding for any non-specified substance on the Prohibited List,” the statement reads.
Nwokocha will now be excluded from any other competition until a final decision is taken at a hearing conducted, according to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules.
