Ogunsemilore Exits Paris 2024 Without Throwing a Punch

Duro Ikhazuagbe 

Nigerian female boxer, Cynthia Temitayo Ogunsemilore’s adventure at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympic Games ended yesterday without throwing a punch!

The Nigerian boxer was scheduled to fight for glory in the women’s 60kg category but was found to have spiked her system with Furosemide, a substance prohibited by WADA at all times and is classified as a “Specified Substance” under S.5 Diuretics and Masking Agents of the 2024 WADA Prohibited List. 

That test was carried out few days to the Games,during an out-of-competition doping control on July 25, 2024.

Of course, she was given the benefit of doubt and asked to appear before Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) officials on Monday. She had no legitimate medical condition to resort to the use of the banned substance. 

The Single Judge of the CAS ADD held a hearing with Ogunsemilore  and issued his decision later the same day, confirming the provisional suspension imposed by the IOC on Ms Cynthia Temitayo Ogunsemilor on 27 July 2024 and continuing through the duration of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

It was on the strength of CAS ruling yesterday that IOC directed that Ogunsemilore should vacate the Games Village. 

Press Attachee of Team Nigeria, Tony Nezianya, early yesterday issued a terse official statement, decamping the female boxer.

“The international Olympic Committee (IOC) has directed the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) to evacuate Cynthia Ogunsemilore, Nigerian female 60kg boxer from the Games’ Village.

“This follows her provisional suspension on account of her alleged doping violation contained in a result of sample test.

In compliance with the the directive, the Team Nigeria management will cooperate with the IOC and any other relevant bodies to ensure she is moved out the Village,” the Team Nigerian press officer concluded in the statement.

News of the dope scandal involving the boxer broke early hours of Friday as the global world was gearing up to witness once-in-life-opening ceremony put in place by France.

The International Testing Agency (ITA), on behalf of International Olympic Committee (IOC), fingered the Nigerian boxer in that out-competition testing carried out there at the Games Village. And as it is mandatory, a provisional suspension was clamped on her with immediate effect pending her appeal to CAS.

As at press time last night, there was no official response from the Nigerian Boxing Federation on how Ogunsemilore got entangled in dope that denied her the chance to participate in the Games she spent months to prepare for.

At the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, 10 Nigerian athletes were disqualified from competing in their events after they failed to undergo mandatory tests ahead of the global sports fiesta.

But the biggest scandal for Team Nigeria was the suspension and subsequent banning for 11 years of Blessing Okagbare from the Games. 

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games long jump silver medalist was stopped from competing in the semi final of the women’s 100m after she tested positive for human growth hormones in an out of competition test in Slovakia on July 19.

She was banned for 10 years and later extended to 11 years, effectively ending Okagbare’s track and field career.