Blessing Okagbare

Born on 10 September 1988 in Sapele, Delta State, Nigeria, Okagbare rose to prominence as an Olympic and World Championships medalist in the long jump. She also claimed a world medal in the 200 meters. She holds the women's 100 meters Commonwealth Games record with a time of 10.85 seconds. Her 100 meters personal best of 10.79 seconds made her the African record holder for that event until 2016. In 2018, she set an African record in the 200 meters with 22.04 seconds, making her the second-fastest African woman over that distance at the time. She was the African 100 meters and long jump champion in 2010 and won medals at the All-Africa Games, IAAF Continental Cup, and World Relays.

Okagbare's career was cut short by a doping scandal. She failed a drug test on 31 July 2021 during the Tokyo Olympics. In February 2022, she received a ten-year ban for multiple breaches of World Athletics anti-doping rules. The Athletics Integrity Unit found she had taken human growth hormone and EPO over an extended period and failed to cooperate with the investigation. Her ban expires on 30 July 2031, effectively ending her athletics career in disgrace. She is 37 years old and has a substantial social media following with 29k Instagram followers.