Prosecutors have charged a Texas-based therapist with providing banned drugs to athletes, including Blessing Okagbare, before Tokyo 2020.
The affidavit shows sprinters dope now, just like they did 15 years ago. Nothing has changed. I explain.
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The investigation into the therapist, Eric Lira, started when an informant ("Individual-1") discovered banned drugs (HGH, IGF-1, EPO, those old classics) in the residence, in Florida, of an unidentified athlete (Athlete-2). One package was addressed to Okagbare (Athlete-1).
The residence, in which the drugs were found was in Jackson, Florida, where Okagbare's training group, the Tumbleweed Track Club, led by coach Rana Reider, is based. Candada's Andre De Grasse and Britain's Adam Gemili and Daryll Neita were a part of the group.
In August 2021, officers of Customs and Border Protection were able to review some of Okagbare's phone data. Ultimately it revealed that she had followed the the standard doping blueprint for elite sprinters. This goes back to the days of Balco and beyond.
This is that blueprint
Sprinters travel to US training camps in either Florida, Texas or North Carolina (Balco roots). They order banned drugs (HGH, EPO, IGF-1) from some form of anti-ageing doctor. They have the drugs shipped to an address they are not living at, or to a relative living there.
They may or may not ship the drugs under a different name. But crucially the period in which this happens is the athletics off-season from November to February, when they are harder to track down for testing.
The Okagbare story has many of the same hallmarks.
The FBI agent's affidavit shows that Okagbare (Athlete-1) contacted Eric Lira, a therapist (✅) in November 2020 (the athletics off-season✅), asking for HGH/Somatropin and EPO (✅) to be shipped to her at an address (✅) while she was based in Florida (✅).
If you refer to the 2006 case of the Jamaican Beijing 2008 sprinters, Adrian Findlay and Delloreen London, it is an identical story.
London, in the 2006 athletics off-season (✅), had HGH/Somatropin (✅) shipped to her while training in Texas (✅).
In November 2007, the very same month as Okagbare/Lira exchanges, Findlay had an anti-ageing therapist ship him testosterone and oxandrolone to him in North Carolina (same state Balco coach Trevor Graham was based).
If you do some sleuthing online see what Jamaican sprinters you can find who also travel over to the US from November to February. Lots of them have family out in the US.
Whether Jamaican, American, or athletes from elsewhere, the Okagbare case is how it goes down.
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