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sports Diahuebs 13 Januari 2022

Man charged with giving Olympic athletes performance drugs

(AP) — U.S. prosecutors details, including her perfor-
charged a Texas man on mances in specific races, that
Wednesday with provid- make it clear she was one of
ing performance-enhanc- Lira’s clients. A text message
ing drugs to athletes com- was sent to Okagbare seeking
peting in last summer’s comment.
Olympics in Tokyo, in-
cluding the star Nigerian Okagbare had been provi-
sprinter Blessing Okag- sionally suspended for testing
bare. positive for human growth
hormone in July 2021 — in
Eric Lira, 41, of El Paso, is the an out-of-competition test
first person to be charged un- — just hours before the for-
der a new U.S. anti-doping mer world championships
law governing international silver medalist was due to
sports competitions. run in the semifinals of the
women’s 100 meters at the
The U.S. Attorney’s Office Olympics. A criminal com-
in Manhattan said Lira dis- plaint unsealed Wednesday in
tributed the drugs, includ- Manhattan federal court de-
ing human growth hormone scribed that suspension.
and erythropoietin, a blood-
building hormone, “for the The Athletics Integrity Unit
purpose of corrupting” the last year said Okagbare also
2020 Games, which were had tested positive for a blood
held in 2021 because of the booster in Nigeria in June.
coronavirus pandemic. She was charged with failing
to cooperate with the inves-
Lira also is accused of con- tigation after she disobeyed United States from Central “Remember I took it Wednes- you will be ready to domi-
spiring to violate drug mis- an order to produce “docu- and South America before day and then yesterday again. nate,” Lira wrote to the ath-
branding and adulteration ments, records and electronic distributing them to athletes. I wasn’t sure so I didn’t take lete.
laws. It was not immediately storage devices” in relation to a test.”
clear whether he had an at- the other charges, the AIU Federal authorities searched The charges against Lira were
torney who could comment said at the time. Okagbare’s cellphone as she In another exchange, Okag- brought under the Rodchen-
on the charges. was returning to the United bare wrote Lira that she had kov Act, a law signed in 2020
“When it’s time to say any- States from Tokyo and found just run the 100m in 10.63 that prohibits “any person,
“It’s not winning if you take thing, I will and it will be she had frequently commu- seconds. News reports de- other than an athlete,” to
illegal substances — it’s worth the wait,” Okagbare nicated with Lira over an en- tailed Okagbare running a knowingly influence any
cheating,” FBI Assistant Di- tweeted last year. crypted app, according to the race in that time a few days “major international sports
rector Michael J. Driscoll complaint. before the message was sent. competition” with the use of
said in a statement. The criminal complaint al- “Eric my body feel so good,” prohibited substance. ___
leges that Lira, a kinesiolo- “Is it safe to take a test this she wrote. “Whatever you did
The criminal complaint gist and naturopathic doc- morning?” Okagbare wrote is working so well.” AP national writer Eddie
identifies Okagbare only as tor, brought “misbranded” in one message to Lira, ac- Pells contributed reporting
“athlete 1,” but it includes versions of the drugs to the cording to the complaint. “You are doing your part and from Denver.

Former Cubs, Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester announces retirement

(AP) — Jon Lester, a durable left-
hander who won three World Series Lester was selected by Boston in the second
titles during 16 years in the majors, has round of the 2002 amateur draft. The five-
announced his retirement. time All-Star broke into the majors with
the Red Sox in 2006, going 7-2 with a 4.76
Lester, who turned 38 on Friday, finishes ERA in 15 starts.
with a 200-117 record and a 3.66 ERA in
452 career games, including 451 starts. He Lester’s first big league season was cut short
also has been a reliable postseason perform- when he was diagnosed with a rare form of
er, compiling a 2.51 ERA in 26 appearances. lymphoma. He underwent chemotherapy
and returned to the majors in July 2007,
The 6-foot-4 Lester helped Boston win the helping the Red Sox to the AL East title
championship in 2007 and 2013, and led by going 4-0 with a 4.57 ERA in 12 games
the Chicago Cubs to the title in 2016. The down the stretch.
championship for the Cubs was the fran-
chise’s first since 1908. Lester then delivered in the postseason,
pitching 5 2/3 scoreless innings in Boston’s
“It’s kind of run its course,” Lester told clinching 4-3 victory over Colorado in
ESPN. “It’s getting harder for me physical- Game 4 of the World Series.
ly. The little things that come up through-
out the year turned into bigger things that Lester signed a $155 million, six-year con-
hinder your performance. tract with Chicago after the 2014 season.
He shared NLCS MVP honors with Ja-
“I’d like to think I’m a halfway decent self- vier Báez on the way to the Cubs’ historic
evaluator. I don’t want someone else telling championship in 2016.
me I can’t do this anymore. I want to be
able to hand my jersey over and say, ‘Thank Lester got his 200th career win when he
you, it’s been fun.’ That’s probably the big- pitched six effective innings for St. Louis in
gest deciding factor.” a 5-2 victory at Milwaukee on Sept. 20.