A major United States law enforcement agency is pursuing the anti-doping case involving provisionally suspended Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare, Saturday PUNCH reports.

The investigations according to RJRGLEANER Group fall under the controversial Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, passed by the United State Government in December 2020.

This development comes just over a month after Okagbare was barred from contesting the 100m semi-finals at the Tokyo Olympics having been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit on July 31.

She was suspended for using the banned drug Human Growth Hormone.

Under the World Anti-Doping Agency rules, the use of HGH, an anabolic steroid, carries a maximum four-year ban for first time offenders.

It grants extraterritorial jurisdiction under major international doping fraud conspiracies.

While the Act provides the legal framework for the prosecution of individuals involved in doping schemes at international sports competitions involving American athletes, broadcasters and sponsors, under the law, criminal prosecution cannot be brought against athletes, who test positive for performance-enhancing substances, such as in this case, Okagbare.

When contacted by messenger application WhatsApp for a comment on the criminal investigation by the law enforcement agency,  Okagbare declined.

“I don’t have anything to say to you nor anyone,” the 2013 World Championship Long Jump silver medallist told the RJRGLEANER Group.

“With due respect, I don’t know how you got my number or who asked you to call me,” she added.

The US law enforcement agency, told the RJRGLEANER Group “no comment”, when queries were made about their involvement in the Okagbare anti-doping matter.

It should be noted that the agency’s policy is to not confirm or deny involvement in cases.

The Athletics Integrity Unit would not be drawn into providing any update on the case of the 32-year-old sprinter.

“As the case is ongoing, there aren’t further updates we can share at this stage,” AIU official Julie Burley said in an emailed response on September 28.

She said any announcements or news will be posted on the AIU website and social channels when relevant.

It should be noted that to date, there has been no update on the status of Okagbare’s ‘B’ sample.

Meanwhile, Okagbare’s coach at the Jacksonville, Florida-based Tumbleweed Track Club, Rana Reider, has denied any knowledge or involvement in the anti-doping matter.

“The situation with Blessing Okagbare has nothing to do with Tumbleweed Track Club, I know nothing about any investigation, and I have had no communication whatsoever with Blessing since news of her positive test came out,” Reider  said.

At least one source with close connections to Tumbleweed, informed that multiple athletes from the club were questioned during the Olympics following the AIU’s announcement of Okagbare’s doping violation.

When contacted, agent Paul Doyle declined comment on the matter.

It is also understood that since the doping violation, Doyle has not been representing Okagbare.

Second seed Garbine Muguruza claimed her second title of the year after recovering from a set down to win the inaugural Chicago Fall Classic.

The Spanish former world number one came through 3-6 6-3 6-0 against Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, the sixth seed.

Muguruza was outplayed in the first set and then lost her serve twice early in the second to be in real trouble.

But she managed to regroup and as she got stronger, Jabeur, the world number 16, started to struggle.

Muguruza reached the final after a walkover in her semi-final when Czech Marketa Vondrousova, the Tokyo Olympic runner-up, pulled out with an injury.

Jabeur’s semi-final on Saturday ended early when Kazakhstan’s fifth-seeded Elena Rybakina retired with the Tunisian leading 6-4 3-2.

Earlier on Sunday, Italy’s Jannik Sinner swept past French veteran Gael Monfils to successfully defend his Sofia Open crown and boost his chances of reaching next month’s ATP Finals.

The 20-year-old top seed won 6-3 6-4 for his fourth career title.

The win will see him move into 10th place in the race for the eight-man season finale which will be held in Turin, Italy from 14 November.

Leaders Real Madrid lost their first game in La Liga this season as they were beaten at Espanyol.

Raul de Tomas gave the hosts a 17th-minute lead when he met Adrian Embarba’s low cross into the box.

Aleix Vidal added an excellent second, beating Nacho before firing past Thibaut Courtois on the hour mark.

Karim Benzema responded for Real with a fine finish into the bottom corner with 19 minutes left, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side could not find a late equaliser

It is a second loss in a week for Real, who suffered a shock champions league defeat by competition debutants Sheriff Tiraspol on Tuesday.

Ancelotti’s side are now winless in three games after being held to a goalless draw against Villarreal in their previous league outing.

Champions Athletico Madrid beat Barcelona 2-0 on Saturday to join Real at the top of La Liga on 17 points.

Benzema had three shots on target but all were comfortable for Espanyol goalkeeper Diego Lopez as Real trailed at half time, while Eder Militao glanced a header wide from a corner as Real initially dominated following the interval.

Benzema duly got his ninth goal in eight league games this season but Vidal’s strike proved decisive for an inspired Espanyol side.

Napoli will stay top of Serie A after maintaining their 100 percent start to the season with a gritty 2-1 win at Fiorentina, while Roma bounced back from derby defeat with a 2-0 win over Empoli.

Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli have a perfect 21 points from their first seven league matches thanks to their come-from-behind victory at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence, which came thanks to strikes from Hirving Lozano and Amir Rrahmani either side of half-time.

It was a tough defeat for Fiorentina, who lost in a similar fashion to how they fell at home to Inter a few weeks back after deservedly taking the lead through Lucas Martinez Quarta.

Vincenzo Italiano’s side stay fifth on 12 points, nine behind Napoli and three away Roma in fourth.

“We suffered a bit after we went ahead, but we also had situations where we could have put ourselves 3-1 ahead which we didn’t manage to exploit,” said Spalletti to DAZN.

“We need to work on that because we will need to win some matches in which we’re truly up against it.”

Martinez Quarta opened the scoring just before the half hour mark with a superb volleyed finish from Dusan Vlahovic’s first-time lay-off at a corner.

However Lozano levelled six minutes before the break after Bartlomiej Dragowski saved Lorenzo Insigne’s penalty and then denied the Italy forward on the rebound, the Mexican roofing home Napoli’s third bite of the cherry.

And Rrahmani scored what turned out to be the winning goal four minutes after the break when he met Piotr Zielinski’s beautifully flighted free-kick with a guided header.

Pellegrini guides Roma

Jose Mourinho’s Roma took a while to get going but were good value for their win at the Stadio Olimpico, with promoted Empoli folding once Lorenzo Pellegrini opened the scoring three minutes before half-time.

Pellegrini, who on Thursday was named in Roberto Mancini’s Italy squad for the upcoming Nations League Final Four, collected Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s pass on the edge of the area before bumping home a low shot from the edge of the area.

It was the Roma captain’s sixth goal in all competitions this season and came the day after the 25-year-old extended his contract with the club until 2026.

Mkhitaryan then made sure of the points two minutes after the restart with his second of the campaign.

The Armenia captain was on hand to guide the ball home after Guiglielmo Vicario had just managed to tip Tammy Abraham’s fierce drive onto the bar, and afterwards Roma coasted to a simple win which boosted morale after losing ot Lazio last weekend.

“We played well, we were solid and compact,” Mourinho told DAZN.

“I think we deserved to win, it’s always good to win after a defeat. Eith 15 points from seven matches we’re doing all right.”

Pressure eased on

Bologna gave coach Sinisa Mihajlovic room to breath with a comfortable 3-0 Serie A win over Lazio which ended a worrying run of results.

Mihajlovic’s position on the Bologna bench had been under discussion ahead of the visit of their Roman opponents after three matches without a win which included shipping six goals at Inter Milan and last weekend’s miserable defeat to Empoli.

Goals from Musa Barrow, Arthur Theate and Aaron Hickey gave the hosts a straightforward win over Lazio, who were without injured Ciro Immobile and finished with 10 mean after Francesco Acerbi’s sending off.

Bologna moved up to ninth on 11 points, level with Atalanta, Lazio and Juventus.

“I knew we would put in a good performance today, because if we go out there with the right attitude, we can win games,”

Julian Nagelsmann suffered his first defeat as Bayern Munich coach on Sunday as Eintracht Frankfurt snatched a dramatic, smash-and-grab 2-1 away win with a late winner from Filip Kostic.

Kostic struck on the counter-attack seven minutes from time to hand Frankfurt their first win in Munich for more than two decades and condemn Bayern to their first defeat of the season.

Despite dominating Frankfurt for much of the game, Bayern succumbed to their first league home defeat since 2019, and now sit just one point clear of Borussia Dortmund in the table.

Leon Goretzka gave Bayern a deserved lead after a dominant first half-hour, slotting in a low finish after a smart lay-off from Robert Lewandowski.

Bayern were left reeling a few minutes later, though, as Martin Hinteregger sent a thundering header past Manuel Neuer at a corner to level the scores.

Lewandowski almost restored the lead shortly before the hour-mark, but Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp denied the Polish star at point-blank range with a brilliant reflex save.

It was the first of a string of second-half stops from Trapp, whose heroics kept Frankfurt in the game before Kostic’s winner sealed Bayern’s fate.

Elsewhere, Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi netted two goals against his old club as Union Berlin fought from a goal down to beat Mainz 2-1 and continue their fine start to the Bundesliga season.

Awoniyi struck twice in four minutes in the second half to give high-flying Union their first away win of the season and fire them up to seventh in the table.

Union loanee Marcus Ingvartsen also scored against his former team mates to give Mainz the lead just before half-time, but it was former Mainz striker Awoniyi who had the last laugh as Union bounced back after the break.

Having missed a handful of chances throughout the game, the Nigerian levelled the scores with a cool finish on the counter-attack 20 minutes from time.

A few minutes later, the 24-year-old scored an almost carbon copy of his equaliser to put Union ahead, once again latching onto a long ball and holding off the Mainz back line before slotting the ball into the bottom corner.