Sports
IAAF Awards Retrieved Gold To Okoro
The International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) has awarded the Shot Put gold medal retrieved from banned Vivian Chukwuemeka to her compatriot, Chinwe Okoro.
Chukwuemeka had at the 18th Senior Africa Athletics Championships in Porto Novo, Republic of Benin, won the medal with a throw of 18.86m.
But she was banned and stripped of the gold medal after she tested positive to a banned substance.
The Technical Director, Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Navy Commodore Omatseye Nesiama, said the IAAF in a letter dated Jan. 31, 2013, to the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA), stripped Chukwuemeka of the gold medal.
The letter reads: “Considering the IAAF notification to CAA, dated January 31, 2013, informing the CAA about the sanction which was pronounced on the Nigerian athlete, Vivian Chukwuemeka, for positive doping test.
“Considering that June 21, 2012 the date on which the sanction started is previous to the 18th Senior African Championships of Porto Novo in which Vivian Chukwuemeka took part, she is stripped of the gold medal’’.
Nesiama said the AFN was ordered to recover the gold medal won by Chukwuemeka and hand it over to Okoro, who was second with a throw of 16.21m.
He said that with the development, the new classification of medals were gold for Chinwe Okoro, while Omotayo Talabi another Nigerian, now holds the silver medal.
He said that the CAA asked the AFN to give back the bronze medal to the CAA, to be awarded to Dongmo Auriole, a Cameroonian athlete.
The record of 18.48m won by Chukwuemeka at the Walnut Games on April 19, 2003, however, still remains the African record for women’s shot put.
Nesiama told Tidesports that the withdrawal of the gold medal from Chukwuemeka had not affected the country’s position as the best in Africa.
He said that after all, it was awarded to her compatriot and the country ranked first and second.
“To me, it has not really affected our position as the champions of Africa.
“We lost Chukwuemeka’s medal, but it is still okay because we did not lose as the gold and silver medal are still in the country,’’ he said.
Pep Guardiola has denied that Manchester City spent big in January in case the club are hit with a transfer embargo for alleged Premier League financial rule breaches.
City splashed out around £170 million ($211 million) on Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez before Monday’s transfer deadline.
They are much-needed reinforcements for a side who are well off the pace in the Premier League and who just scraped into the Champions League play-offs.
Guardiola, whose side edged third-tier Leyton Orient in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, was asked whether the club’s striking outlay was triggered by the possibility they would be hit by a transfer ban.
Brighton came from behind to beat Chelsea and reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.
The Blues took a fortunate lead early on when Cole Palmer’s volleyed cross from the left was fumbled into his own net by Bart Verbruggen.
But Albion came back and Georginio Rutter headed in from Joel Veltman’s cross.
And they took the lead when Rutter picked out Kaoru Mitoma, the subject of a rejected £54m bid from Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr before the transfer deadline, who dinked the ball over Robert Sanchez.
Chelsea felt the goal should have been disallowed, as the ball struck Tariq Lamptey’s arm in the build-up, though there are no video assistant referees in the FA Cup fourth round.
Those goals came from Albion’s only shots in the first 60 minutes.
Plymouth Argyle produced a classic FA Cup giant-killing as the Championship’s bottom club stunned Premier League leaders Liverpool at a raucous Home Park.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot made 10 changes from the side that swept Tottenham aside to reach the Carabao Cup final and paid the price as Plymouth made the most of the opportunity to secure a place in the fifth round.
A scrappy tie came to life eight minutes after the interval when Plymouth were awarded a penalty after Harvey Elliott’s handball, Ryan Hardie drilling home the spot-kick in emphatic fashion.
Hardie almost added a second shortly afterwards when his shot was turned on to the post by Liverpool keeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Liverpool applied some pressure in the closing stages, keeper Conor Hazard saving superbly from Diogo Jota then miraculously from substitute Darwin Nunez’s header, but Plymouth closed out a landmark win under new manager Miron Muslic.
Plymouth’s atmospheric Home Park erupted with a deafening roar as the final whistle sounded on a victory they will recall forever in Devon.
The sinking of Liverpool was a triumph for Plymouth’s charismatic manager Muslic, who has won the hearts of the ‘Green Army’ since succeeding the sacked Wayne Rooney.
In a stunning atmosphere, Plymouth sensed their chance when Liverpool’s teamsheet landed, with stellar names such as Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk not even on the bench.
Plymouth, as they had to, made the tie a scrap and then the decisive moment came when Elliott needlessly handled, allowing Hardie to assume the role of match-winner.
And they found a hero in keeper Hazard in those closing moments as he saved from Jota, then miraculously from Nunez’s header.
The main priority remains survival in the Championship, but the FA Cup demonstrated its enduring magic by producing a result that Plymouth hope will help their fight to stay up
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