Running News Daily

Sprint coach Rana Reider gets probation for sexual misconduct

On May 10, U.S. Center for SafeSport has resolved the case with high-profile sprint coach Rana Reider. Reider, who is Andre De Grasse’s former coach, admitted to having an intimate but consensual relationship with an 18-year-old female athlete, and that this presented a power imbalance. He was not found in violation of any other sexual misconduct claims for which he was under investigation.

A statement by Reider’s lawyer, Ryan Stevens, said the American coach will be placed on one-year probation by SafeSport and ordered to take an online course on SafeSport Education. Reider will be allowed to continue his elite-level coaching of sprinters and jumpers.

The 52-year-old, who had been the subject of an 18-month investigation into multiple complaints of sexual misconduct, was formally sanctioned by the U.S. Center for SafeSport on Wednesday. All other claims are now administratively closed, according to the statement. 

The violation occurred in 2014 when Reider was 44 and had an affair with a young athlete he was coaching at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Eugene, Ore.

“From the beginning, we demanded this case to be properly vetted,” said Stevens. “Rana was candid and co-operative. His stellar reputation in track and field is now restored.”

Reider previously coached high-profile athletes with his Tumbleweed Track Club in Jacksonville, Fla., including the 200m Olympic gold medallist De Grasse,in addition to U.S. sprinter Trayvon Bromell, disgraced sprinter Blessing Okagbare and British sprinters Adam Gemili and Daryll Neita (who won bronze in the women’s 4x100m relay at Tokyo 2020).

During Reider’s investigation and Okagbare’s doping scandal, De Grasse, Bromell and Neita all changed coaches heading into the 2023 season. De Grasse is now coached by Irish sprint coach John Coghlan in Orlando, Fla., training alongside his wife, U.S. hurdler Nia Ali.

I gave performance-enhancing drugs to Okagbare, therapist admits

A twist may have been added to the drug issues, which led to the 11-year ban handed to U.S.-based Nigeria’s track queen, Blessing Okagbare, following confession by Texas therapist, Eric Lira, in the late hours of Monday.

Lira faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to supplying performance-enhancing drugs to Olympic athletes, including banned Okagbare, United States authorities said.

Lira, a “naturopathic” therapist based in the city of El Paso, is the first individual to be convicted under a new U.S. law introduced in the wake of Russia’s state-backed Olympic doping scandals, the Department of Justice said in a statement.

The 2020 law, named after Russian whistleblower, Grigory Rodchenkov, enables the American authorities to prosecute individuals involved in international doping fraud conspiracies.

Lira was found to have supplied drugs to Okagbare in the build-up to the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Okagbare, who was subsequently banned from the sport for 11 years, was expelled from the Tokyo Games just before the women’s 100m semifinals.

It had emerged that she had tested positive for human growth hormone in an out-of-competition test in Slovakia before the start of the global showpiece.

U.S. Attorney, Damian Williams, said after Lira pleaded guilty in a federal court in Manhattan, that the case was a “watershed moment for international sport.”

“Lira provided banned performance-enhancing substances to Olympic athletes, who wanted to corruptly gain a competitive edge,” he said.

“Such craven efforts to undermine the integrity of sport subverts the purpose of the Olympic Games – which is to showcase athletic excellence through a level playing field.

“Lira’s efforts to pervert that goal will not go unpunished.”

Athletes who obtained the drugs from Lira were not all identified, but the Athletics Integrity Unit, an independent anti-doping body, said they were Okagbare and fellow-Nigerian, Divine Oduduru, who is facing a potential six-year ban.

The maximum sentence for violating the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act is 10 years in prison. Lira’s sentence will be determined by a judge at a later date, the Department of Justice statement added.

US anti-doping officials welcomed Lira’s conviction, noting that it was made possible only by the recently enacted law.

“Without this law, Lira, who held himself out as a doctor to athletes, likely would have escaped consequence for his distribution of dangerous performance-enhancing drugs and his conspiracy to defraud the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games because he did not fall under any sport anti-doping rules,” said Travis Tygart, the chief executive officer of the US Anti-Doping Agency.

Four-time NCAA champion facing six-year ban for doping violations

On Thursday morning, Athlete #2 in the Blessing Okagbare doping scandal was revealed to be her Nigerian teammate, four-time NCAA sprint champion and Tokyo Olympian Divine Oduduru. The Athletics Integrity Unit has provisionally suspended Oduduru for two potential Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs), which could result in a six-year ban from the sport.

According to a string of messages on the popular social media app WhatsApp, Okagbare (Athlete #1) sought performance-enhancing drugs from El Paso, Texas-based naturopath Eric Lira, for herself and her Nigerian teammate Oduduru. At the time (June 2021), Oduduru was dealing with a hamstring injury and was “looking for help the hamstring heal really fast.”

“Hey Eric, I just sent you $2,500, can you confirm it? And also, remember I told you (Athlete #2) had hurt his hamstring, so anything that can help the hamstring heal fast you can actually bring it as well, ok?” – (Athlete #1) Blessing Okagbare to Eric Lira on June 7, 2021.

“Hola amigo / Eric my body feels so good / I just ran 10.63 in the 100m on Friday / with a +2.7 wind / I am sooooo happy / Ericccccccc / Whatever you did, is working so well.” – (Athlete #1) Blessing Okagbare to Lira on June 22, 2021.

On July 30, 2021, Okagbare was suspended following her 100m heat at the Tokyo Olympics when it was discovered that she had tested positive for human growth hormone (HGH) in an out-of-competition test on July 19. In addition, Okagbare had tested positive for EPO on June 20, and was also charged for refusing to co-operate with the investigation.

Okagbare was later given an additional ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) to her existing 10-year suspension for doping violations, evading sample collections and tampering with the doping control process.

When the text messages were released in January 2022, the identity of Athlet #2 was unknown but many speculated it was a male training partner of Okagbare’s at Florida-based Tumbleweed Track Club.

Okagbare and Oduduru were both a part of the Nigerian national team program and trained together under now-controversial coach Rana Reider with Tumbleweed Track Club. Reider was also the coach of Canadian 200m Olympic champion Andre De Grasse until recently. 

Oduduru has not competed since Okagbare was suspended in January 2022.

Oduduru ran for Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, where he was a four-time NCAA champion in the 100m and 200m. He also reached the Tokyo Olympic semi-finals in the 200m and holds the Nigerian national record of 19.73 seconds.

Andre De Grasse switches coaches, heading into 2024 Olympics

After a season of highs and lows, Canada’s reigning 200m Olympic champion, Andre De Grasse, has switched things up for 2023. The six-time Olympic medalist, along with his partner, 2016 Olympic medalist Nia Ali, has moved to Orlando, Fla., to work with Irish sprint coach John Coghlan, leaving his controversial coach Rana Reider, with whom he spent three seasons.

De Grasse says he wanted to stay in North America, and became interested in Coghlan’s coaching success through 100mH Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who went on to win the 100 hurdles for Puerto Rico at the Tokyo Olympics, and his agent Paul Doyle.

The Canadian 200m record holder told the CBC that his mindset and motivations have changed since the last Olympic cycle. “I’m getting older, so I was just trying to do something different this time around,” said De Grasse. “I believe having a smaller crew will benefit me.”

De Grasse’s partner, Ali, won gold in the women’s 100mH at the 2019 World Championships in Qatar and has her eyes on a Team U.S.A. spot for the 2024 Games.

The 28-year-old told CBC the move was more about a fresh start heading into the 2024 Paris Olympics than controversy around his former coach and his Tumbleweed Track Club in Jacksonville, Fla. “I just wanted to try something different,” said De Grasse. “I liked the idea of Orlando, and we thought it would be a good spot for our kids as well.”

In 2022 Reider, who has guided numerous athletes to Olympic and world championship medals, was under investigation by U.S. Center for SafeSport for alleged sexual misconduct. Reider was also the coach of Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare, who was suspended during the 2020 Olympic Games after a positive test for steroids; earlier this year, she was handed an 11-year suspension by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for multiple anti-doping offenses, on top of the original offense.

In November 2021, Athletics Canada withdrew its funding of Canadian athletes being coached by Reider, including De Grasse, due to the ongoing investigation.

At the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Ore., where De Grasse helped Canada’s 4×100-meter relay team win gold, Reider was seen trying to enter the athlete warmup area after his coaching accreditation was revoked by World Athletics, due to his ongoing investigation, and he was removed from the premises.

The Olympic 200m champion struggled to find his fitness at the beginning of the 2022 season and was sidelined due to COVID-19 three weeks before the world championships, where he bowed out of the 100m in the semis and was listed as a DNS in the 200m heats. 

With three major championships on the calendar over the next three years, De Grasse stressed that he wants to improve. “I felt like I wanted a little bit more attention to detail and stuff like that going into my next Olympics,” De Grasse told CBC.

Commonwealth Games relay champion Nwokocha given provisional doping ban

Nzubechi Grace Nwokocha, who was part of Nigeria's women's 4x100 metres relay team that dramatically won gold on the line at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for testing positive for a banned substance.

Nwokocha infamously dipped to the line to beat the hosts England on the anchor leg to put her team - also consisting of Tobi Amusan, Favour Ofili and Rosemary Chukwuma - top of the podium.

The 21-year-old tested positive for ostarine and ligandrol, according to the AIU.

It could lead to England being promoted to gold in the relay and Jamaica moved into silver.

Australia would be promoted to bronze if Nigeria are disqualified.

Ostarine is an anabolic steroid that is not approved for human use or consumption in the United States, the country where Nwokocha has trained while at university.

Ligandrol is used to increase energy, improve athletic performance and increase muscle growth.

Testing positive for prohibited substances carries a penalty of up to four years, meaning the Nigerian could miss the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games if found guilty.

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Nwokocha made the semi-finals of the women's 100m and 200m, reaching the same stage in both races at this year's 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene.

The Nigerian was fifth at Birmingham 2022 in the women's 100m final too.

Nwokocha also finished sixth this year in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 100m and 200m finals.

She is not the first prominent Nigerian to face a ban, with Olympic, world and Commonwealth champion Blessing Okagbare given a 10-year ban earlier this year for multiple cases of doping, as well as refusing to comply with the investigation.

Failures in Nigerian anti-doping left several athletes to miss the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, as they were deemed to have not been tested enough prior to the Games.

Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare receives 10-year doping ban

The Athletics Integrity Unit has handed Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare a 10-year ban for doping violations, which will effectively end her career. The 33-year-old was sent home from the Tokyo Games before the semi-final of the women’s 100m, for which she had qualified automatically before a previous positive test for human growth hormone came to light.

On July 30, Okagbare won her 100m heat in Tokyo, despite having tested positive out-of-competition on July 19.

In October, according to a Reuters report, she was charged with three doping violations, including the use of human growth hormone, a previous positive test for EPO (from June 2021) and refusing to hand over documentation requested by investigators.

According to a report in the Independent, the athlete received five years for using multiple banned substances and five years for refusing to co-operate with an investigation. (The standard doping ban is for four years.)

Okagbare won bronze in the 200m at the 2013 World Championships and is an Olympic and World Championship medalist in the long jump. She holds the Commonwealth Games record in the 100m at 10.85, set in Glasgow in 2014.

High-profile coach Rana Reider will be investigated for sexual misconduct

According to a report in The Guardian, Florida-based coach Rana Reider is the subject of multiple complaints of sexual misconduct, and is about to be investigated by the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

Reider’s roster of high-profile clients includes 200m Olympic gold medallist Andre De Grasse, in addition to British sprinters Adam Gemili and Daryll Neita (who won bronze in the women’s 4x100m relay at Tokyo 2020). The report claims UK Athletics has instructed its athletes to cut ties with Reider.

Sources say that Reider is also a coach to Blessing Okagbare, the Nigerian sprinter who was sent home from Tokyo after testing positive for human growth hormone. 

The report says that Reider’s lawyer claims his client had not been notified of any investigation and protests that the allegations have not been tested or proven.

Gemili, 28, was the first British man to sub-10 over 100m and sub-20 over 200m. According to the report, he has been coached by Reider since 2017. He won gold in the 4x100m relay at the 2017 World Championships, and silver in 2019. At Tokyo 2020, he got injured during the heats in the 200m (his only event) and did not advance.

The U.S. Center for Safepsort is an independent body that handles investigations and complaints into abuse and misconduct in Olympic sports. In July 2021, SafeSport issued a lifetime ban on U.S. coach Alberto Salazar for sexual and emotional misconduct.

Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare charged with three anti-doping offences

Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare has been charged with three offences by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).

She was suspended during the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for a human growth hormone following an out-of-competition test on 19 July.

The 32-year-old later tested positive for another banned substance, recombinant erythropoietin (EPO), which increases red blood cell count.

She has also been charged for not co-operating with the AIU's investigation.

The AIU alleges Okagbare "failed to comply with a formal requirement to produce relevant documents, records and electronic storage devices" to the investigation.

Okagbare - a rival to Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith - had won her 100m heat in Tokyo before being pulled out of the Games.

Okagbare, Olympic long jump silver medalist in Beijing in 2008, denies all the charges.

Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare loses appeal, begins four-year ban over banned drugs, but she may return before Paris 2024 Olympics

Blessing Okagbare, may have lost her battle to upturn the suspension placed on her by World Athletics (WA) after failing an out-of-competition test.

The U.S.-based sprinter was thrown out of the Tokyo Olympics Games on the eve of the semifinals of the women’s 100m after testing positive for human growth hormone. The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) revealed then that Okagbare failed an out-of-competition test taken on July 19. She appealed against the suspension immediately, insisting on seeing the result of her B Sample.

The Guardian learnt yesterday that Okagbare, a medallist at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, was allegedly handed four-year ban after the result of her B Sample came out with the same result.

“Okagbare started her four-year ban long ago,” a source close to World Athletics (WA) said in a chat with The Guardian. “It is just unfortunate Blessing Okagbare found herself in this mess. When the result of her A Sample came out, Okagbare had the option of accepting it, which could have seen her ban reduced to two or three years, but she insisted on her B Sample. I pity her though, but WA wants all athletes to compete and win clean. Okagbare’s ban may elapse before the Paris 2024 Olympics,” the official stated.

Okagbare had won her heat on Friday (July 30), and was meant to compete in the women’s 100 metres semifinals the next day, when the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) officially announced her suspension in the morning.

The AIU explained then that the Growth Hormone is a non-specified substance on the 2021 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list, and a provisional suspension on Okagbare was mandatory following an adverse analytical finding for such substance under the World Athletics anti-doping rules.

“The WADA-accredited laboratory that analysed the sample notified the AIU of the adverse analytical finding at midday Central European Time on Friday, July 30.

“The athlete was notified of the adverse analytical finding and of her provisional suspension this morning in Tokyo.”

Efforts to speak with Blessing Okagbare were unsuccessful yesterday.

Ten track and field nigerians banned from Olympics for missed doping tests protest in Tokyo

Nigerian athletes protested in Tokyo on Friday after they were disqualified from the Olympics for failing to meet anti-doping testing requirements, reports said.

Ten would-be Olympians were banned from competing in the track and field competition after Nigerian sports officials allegedly failed to properly register them for three mandatory out-of-competition tests, Nigeria’s Premium Times reported.

The Ministry of Sports and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria said the athletes’ tests did not meet collection and analysis standards and the Athletics Integrity Unit, which handles the anti-doping program for the sport, said the athletes didn’t meet the testing requirements, the outlet reported.

“The AFN bears responsibility for any lapses that may have occurred during the process and reassures Nigerians that our performances will not be negatively impacted,” the AFN said in response.

“All our athletes resident in Nigeria and who qualified for the Olympic Games completed the three mandatory tests. Most of our top athletes resident in the USA also completed their tests. However, a few athletes in the American collegiate system were tested but those tests were deemed not to have complied with… sample collection and analysis standards.”

But the star runners claim the snafu wasn’t their fault and held signs with messages like “Why should we suffer for someone else’s negligence” and “We are not just alternates but potential medalists.”

The 2020 Olympics is the first time since 2012 that Nigerians have two athletes competing in the semifinals of the 100m women’s race after runners Blessing Okagbare and Nzubechi Grace Nwokocha made the cut in pre-qualifying events.

The AFN noted no Nigerian athlete tested positive for prohibited substances.

World record-holders ready to clash in Hengelo

Five world champions, four Olympic gold medallists and two world record-holders are set to compete at the FBK Games – a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting – in Hengelo on Sunday (6).

Pole vault world record-holder Mondo Duplantis will be raring to go after his 23-meet winning streak came to an end at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Gateshead at the end of last month. Battling tough conditions, the 21-year-old from Sweden gave the bar a slight nudge on his final attempt at 5.80m – what would have been a winning height – and it came down, meaning victory went to two-time world champion Sam Kendricks.

Kendricks won’t be in Hengelo, but Duplantis will have one eye on the US vaulter’s meeting record and Dutch all-comers’ record of 5.91m.

Olympic champion Thiago Braz and Dutch vaulter Menno Vloon, who set a national indoor record of 5.96m earlier this year, are also in the line-up.

Double world champion Sifan Hassan will return to the track on which she set a European 10,000m record of 29:36.67 last year and will again contest the 25-lap discpline. The Dutch distance runner has tested her form over a range of distances this year, clocking 8:33.62 for 3000m indoors, followed by 14:35.34 for 5000m and 2:01.54 for 800m outdoors.

Kenya’s Daisy Cherotich, New Zealand’s world finalist Camille Buscomb and Canada’s Andrea Seccafien will all be hoping to emerge from the race with lifetime bests.

World 800m champion Halimah Nakaayi will open her 2021 campaign over her specialist distance. The Ugandan middle-distance runner takes on a quartet of Britons – Laura Muir, Kelly Hodgkinson, Jemma Reekie and Adelle Tracey – as well as Norway’s Hedda Hynne and France’s Renelle Lamote.

In the men’s event, indoor sensation Elliot Giles lines up for his first outdoor 800m of the year, taking on fellow Brits Max Burgin – who set a European U20 record of 1:44.14 in Ostrava last month – and Daniel Rowden. Tony van Diepen, one of the Netherlands’ top performers at the World Athletics Relays Silesia 21, is also in the field.

Recent Montreuil winner Abel Kipsang goes in the men’s 1500m where he’ll take on Uganda’s Ronald Musagala and Britain’s sub-3:30 performer Jake Wightman.

Asher-Smith, Kerley and McLeod set to produce sprint highlights

Although she has raced there only once before, world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith has fond memories of racing in Hengelo.

It is where, as a teenager back in 2015, she set her first senior national record over 100m, clocking 11.02. Six years on from that performance, and having bagged many more records and medals, the world 200m champion will be hoping for a sub-11-second clocking to improve on the 11.35 season’s best she recorded when winning in Gateshead, running in heavy rain and into a -3.1m/s headwind.

Nigeria’s world and Olympic medallist Blessing Okagbare, who has a season’s best of 10.90, and two-time world 200m champion Dafne Schippers are also in the line-up.

World 4x400m champion Fred Kerley has so far this year produced his most impressive performances at 100m, clocking 9.91 and 9.96 in recent weeks. In Hengelo, however, he’ll step back up to his specialist 400m discipline and will aim to improve on the 44.60 season’s best he recorded in Doha last week.

World record-holders will headline a stunning cast of athletic talent for the 60th edition of the Golden Spike in Ostrava

Paul Chelimo, Joshua Cheptegei, Genzebe Dibaba, Barbora Spotakova and Anita Wlodarczyk have all gone where no other athlete in history has, while with his indoor world record of 18.07m earlier this year, Hugues Fabrice Zango showed he has the potential to one day surpass Jonathan Edwards’ triple jump world record of 18.29m.

With 1500 fans allowed in the stadium, every set of eyes will be trained on Cheptegei when he takes to the track for the men’s 3000m, the final event on the programme. Edged by Duplantis for Male World Athlete of the Year in 2020, the Ugandan 24-year-old has been untouchable on the track since 2019, setting world records at 5000m and 10,000m.

Cheptegei’s current best for 3000m is 7:33.26, but the enlisting of Australia’s Stewart McSweyn – a 7:28 man – as pacemaker suggests the Ugandan is ready to take a massive chunk off that. If conditions are favourable, he looks primed to challenge Daniel Komen’s 3000m world record of 7:20.67, which has stood for 25 years. The world 10,000m champion sharpened his speed last month with a 3:37.36 1500m PB at altitude in Kampala. Olympic 5000m silver medallist Paul Chelimo is likely to be his closest pursuer.

Elsewhere in the distance events, world half marathon champion Jacob Kiplimo will open his season over 10,000m where it seems the 20-year-old Ugandan’s personal best of 27:26.68 is due for serious revision. In the men’s 3000m steeplechase, 2019 Diamond League champion Getnet Wale of Ethiopia will be looking to improve on his best of 8:05.21, having clocked a blazing 7:24.98 for 3000m indoors back in February.

Poland’s world bronze medalist Marcin Lewandowski takes on Ugandan record-holder Ronald Musagala in the men's 1500m. European Indoor 800m champion Patryk Dobek will race the two-lap distance in Ostrava, and the Pole remains undecided between the 800m and the 400m hurdles for the Tokyo Olympics. He should get a good indicator of his medal chances at the longer distance on Wednesday as he takes on seasoned veterans Adam Kszczot and Amel Tuka.

Genzebe Dibaba is the star attraction in the women’s 1500m, her first outing at the distance in which she holds the world record since August 2019. The Ethiopian made an eye-catching half marathon debut last December when clocking 1:05:18 in Valencia, but she failed to finish on her only outing since, an indoor 3000m in February. Uganda’s Winnie Nanyondo should be her biggest rival. In the women’s 800m, European indoor champion Keely Hodgkinson should be tough to beat.

Richardson takes on Schippers and Okagbare

In the sprints, the women’s 200m will take top billing, with fans eager to see what Sha’Carri Richardson can produce after her red-hot form in recent weeks. The 21-year-old US sprinter clocked wind-legal 100m times of 10.72, 10.74 and 10.77 already this season and she seems primed to dip below 22 seconds over 200m for the first time. Also in the field is two-time world champion Dafne Schippers and Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare.

Olympic 100m bronze medallist Andre De Grasse will face 2004 Olympic champion Justin Gatlin in the men’s 100m and while both have edged below 10 seconds this year, they will have it all to do to beat 400m specialist Fred Kerley, who clocked 9.91 (2.0m/s) in Miami last month.

Kerley is also slated for the 200m, which takes place 80 minutes after the 100m. In the latter, Kenny Bednarek should prove tough to beat, having run 19.94 behind Noah Lyles at the USATF Golden Games recently.

In the men’s 400m, 2012 Olympic champion Kirani James will be looking to return to his best as the clock counts down towards the Tokyo Games. The Grenadian opened his season with a 44.88-second clocking in Phoenix, USA, last month, though Vernon Norwood is the quickest in the field this year with his 44.64.

Olympic bronze medallist Yasmani Copello headlines the men’s 400m hurdles, while Denmark’s Sara Slott Petersen is the quickest on paper in the women’s event.