Blessing Okagbare has been handed a 10-year ban for breaching doping regulations, while Great Britain have lost Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medals after CJ Ujah tested positive for a banned substance.
Nigerian track and field athlete Okagbare, who specialises in long jump and short sprints, is an Olympic and World Championship medallist, including silver in Beijing in 2008.
The 33-year-old also won her heat at the Tokyo Olympics in the women's 100m, but a positive test for a human growth hormone in July ruled her out of the semi-finals at the Games.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has now acted by banning Okagbare for 10 years after positive tests for multiple substances and failure to cooperate with investigations.
An AIU statement on Friday read: "The Disciplinary Tribunal has banned Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare for a total of 10 years, five years for the presence and use of multiple prohibited substances and five years for her refusal to co-operate with the AIU's investigation into her case.
"The sole arbitrator adjudicating the case concluded that the athlete's use of multiple prohibited substances as part of an organised doping regimen in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympic Games was egregious conduct that amounted to aggravating circumstances under the Rules thereby warranting an additional period of ineligibility on top of the standard four-year sanction.
"The sole arbitrator also recognised the AIU's right to carry out investigations, including the imaging of electronic devices, and to impose sanctions when an athlete refuses to co-operate with an investigation and thereby frustrates the AI's ability to fulfil its mandate to protect the integrity of the sport of athletics.
"In this instance, the sole arbitrator concluded that the athlete's refusal to cooperate had denied the AIU the opportunity to discover evidence of possible further rule violations by her as well possible violations of the rules by others, for which he imposed an additional sanction of five years."
Head of the AIU Brett Clothier added: "We welcome the decision of the Disciplinary Tribunal; a ban of 10-years is a strong message against intentional and coordinated attempts to cheat at the very highest level of our sport."
On the same day, Great Britain were stripped of their silver medal in the men's 4x100m relay at the 2020 Games after Ujah's drug test returned traces of ostarine and S-23 – both banned substances.
Ujah raced in the first leg of the sprint relay as Great Britain, with a team also including Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, edged out Italy for second on the podium.
The Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS ADD) stated that Ujah had "not knowingly or intentionally doped, suggesting that the source of the prohibited substances could have been the ingestion of a contaminated supplement."
The statement added: "The CAS ADD sole arbitrator issued the present decision in which she determined, to her comfortable satisfaction, that an anti-doping rule violation had been committed."
The CAS ADD said that it has requested World Athletics to consider further action against Ujah within their jurisdiction, including on whether a ban may be imposed.
Ujah reiterated in his statement that he had not knowingly "consumed a contaminated supplement and this was the reason why an anti-doping rule violation occurred at the Tokyo Olympic Games."
In his statement, he continued: "I sincerely regret that this has inadvertently led to the forfeiture of the men's 4x100m relay team's Olympic silver medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
"I would like to apologise to my teammates, their families and support teams for the impact which this has had on them.
"I'm sorry that this situation has cost my teammates the medals they worked so hard and so long for, and which they richly deserved. That is something I will regret for the rest of my life."
He added that representing Team GB "surpassed my childhood ambitions and I will forever be devastated that this situation has marred the success achieved" in Tokyo.
"I would also like to apologise to both British Athletics and Team GB. British Athletics has supported the relay athletes for years and this has been difficult for everyone involved in the programme."
UK Athletics bans transgender women from competing in female category
UK Athletics has banned transgender women from competing in the female categories of their United Kingdom competitions and events.
The ban comes a week after World Athletics announced their own outlawing of male-to-female transgender competitors who have been through male puberty competing in women's elite events.
The move received support from former Olympians such as swimmer Sharron Davies and decathlon great Daley Thompson, though it also came under fire from some LGBTQ+ campaign groups.
Both bans will come into force from March 31.
"UK Athletics notes the revised World Athletics Eligibility Regulations for Transgender Athletes released on 23 March 2023 and coming into effect on 31 March 2023," a statement read.
"It is fair for athletes who have gone through male puberty to be excluded from the female category in Athletics.
"UK Athletics acknowledges and appreciates the efforts made by World Athletics to protect the female category in Athletics.
"From midnight on 31 March 2023, UK Athletics applies the World Athletics Transgender Regulations to all athletics competitions and events in the United Kingdom where the licence for the competition or event is granted by UK Athletics."
World Athletics gets praise and criticism after Coe reveals transgender ruling
World Athletics was accused of "succumbing to political pressure" after ruling male-to-female transgender competitors who have been through male puberty will be prevented from competing in women's elite events.
There was also praise for its stance, notably from former Olympians including swimmer Sharron Davies and decathlon great Daley Thompson.
The global governing body for track and field announced its decision on Thursday, and it will come into force from March 31.
World Athletics said it had spoken to a wide range of stakeholders before reaching its conclusion, with president Sebastian Coe saying: "Decisions are always difficult when they involve conflicting needs and rights between different groups, but we continue to take the view that we must maintain fairness for female athletes above all other considerations.
"We will be guided in this by the science around physical performance and male advantage which will inevitably develop over the coming years. As more evidence becomes available, we will review our position, but we believe the integrity of the female category in athletics is paramount."
Davies responded on Twitter, writing: "Thank you @sebcoe & @WorldAthletics for standing up for female athletes across the world who are worthy of fair sport"
Thompson added: "@sebcoe & @WorldAthletics have just given me another couple of reasons to love them."
The LGBTQ+ campaign group Stonewall took a different perspective, stating: "It is so disappointing to see World Athletics announce a unilateral ban on trans women in track and field events. Their own statement recognises that there are no trans women competing at an international level and that they have no specific evidence to justify the ban.
"We stand with trans people who now have the door closed on their chance to compete in athletic sports at an international level."
Athlete Ally, a US-based group which states its aim is to "champion LGBTQI+ equality", was also critical of the stance taken by World Athletics.
Its founder Hudson Taylor said: "We are beyond devastated to see World Athletics succumbing to political pressure instead of core principles of inclusion, fairness and non-discrimination for transgender athletes and athletes with intersex traits.
"The guidelines announced today go against inclusive guidelines from the International Olympic Committee as well as extensive research showing that transgender women do not have an inherent advantage in sport.
"Sebastian Coe states that these guidelines are an attempt to protect women's sport, but in fact these guidelines do nothing to address what we know to be the actual, proven threats to women's sports: unequal pay, rampant sexual abuse and harassment, lack of women in leadership and inequities in resources for women athletes.
"What these guidelines mean on a human level is that a young transgender girl who dreams of one day seeing herself on an Olympic stage will now have those dreams cruelly dashed."
While World Athletics says it has extensive research on athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD), it says its bank of information regarding transgender athletes is not as great.
It said: "There are currently no transgender athletes competing internationally in athletics and consequently no athletics-specific evidence of the impact these athletes would have on the fairness of female competition in athletics. In these circumstances, the council decided to prioritise fairness and the integrity of the female competition before inclusion."
Revolutionary Olympic high jumper Dick Fosbury dies aged 76
Olympic gold medallist Dick Fosbury, who revolutionised the high jump with his 'Fosbury Flop' technique, has died at the age of 76.
Fosbury won a gold medal for the United States at the 1968 games in Mexico City using a novel back-first technique that is commonplace among high jumpers today.
By clearing 2.24 metres with the technique – which he began to experiment with in school – in the event's final, Fosbury set a then-Olympic and United States record.
Fosbury's agent Ray Schulte confirmed his death on Instagram on Monday, writing: "It is with a very heavy heart I have to release the news that longtime friend and client Dick Fosbury passed away peacefully in his sleep early Sunday morning after a short bout with a recurrence of lymphoma."
USA Track & Field, the nation's athletics governing body, called Fosbury "a true legend and innovator" on Twitter, adding: "Fosbury's legacy will live on for generations to come."
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach also paid tribute, saying: "Dick Fosbury wrote unforgettable Olympic history by revolutionising the high jump at the Olympic Games Mexico 1968.
"The games would never be the same again after he won the gold medal at those games, 'flopping' across the bar.
"Dick Fosbury was always true to the Olympic values and served the Olympic movement in a number of functions, including as president of the World Olympians Association.
"He will forever be remembered as an outstanding Olympic champion. Our thoughts are with his family and friends."
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