New case of doping in athletics. American justice revealed, Wednesday January 12, that it had indicted a therapist based in El Paso, Texas, accused of having provided doping products to at least two athletes before the Tokyo Games. Eric Lira, 41, is the subject of an indictment under the new "Rodchenkov law", named after the former Russian whistleblower, authorizing American justice to pursue and sanction anyone involved in a doping case, regardless of nationality, if the facts involve an American citizen. According to the indictment, Eric Lira allegedly supplied doping products, including EPO and growth hormones, in South and Central America, before distributing them to athletes before the Tokyo Games. The athletes in question are not named, but several clues suggest that one of them is the Nigerian Blessing Okagbare (photo above, center). The 33-year-old sprinter tested positive for growth hormone last summer in Tokyo, then prevented from participating just hours before the start of the 100m event. US authorities gained access to her cell phone as she returned to the United States and discovered that she had communicated with Eric Lira using an encrypted app.
