by Deji Ogeyingbo
The ramifications of this case are fascinating and sad. This was announced just over a month ago, and Deji Ogeyingbo wrote this piece immediately. I missed it, during my stint in the hospital, and am finally catching up. My apologies to our readers and Deji.
Commonwealth Games Gold medallist Grace Nwokocha was suspended after a positive doping test.
Nigerian sprinter and North Caroline AT & T sprinter Grace Nwokocha has been provisionally suspended after returning a positive result for a banned substance.
The AIU, which oversees integrity issues in international athletics, including doping, said a sample collected from Nwokocha tested positive for Ostarine and Ligandrol, anabolic agents – were found in Nwokocha’s blood sample.
A Provisional Suspension is when an Athlete or other Person is suspended temporarily from participating in any competition or activity in Athletics prior to a final decision at a hearing conducted under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules or the Integrity Code of Conduct.
Nwokocha represented Nigeria at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and was part of Nigeria’s 4x100m Gold winning team, including Tobi Amusan, Rosemary Chukwuma, and Favour Ofili. The 21-year-old athlete also finished fifth in Birmingham’s final of the women’s 100m.
In June, Nwokocha became the National 100m champion for the first time in her career as she also reached her maiden final at the NCAA Championships, finishing sixth. She also reached the semi-final of the world championships.
Her teammate in college, Randolph Ross, who is a back-back NCAA Champion over the 400m, was suspended due to his conduct during the course of an investigation into a potential whereabouts violation and missed the 2022 World Championships in Oregon.
His father, Duane, won a bronze medal in the 110 hurdles at the 1999 worlds. He later served a two-year suspension related to coach Trevor Graham’s case and the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) case. Ross coached his son and Nwokocha at North Carolina A&T and, earlier this year, was hired as director of track and field at Tennessee.
