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A Texas man on Wednesday became the first to be charged under a new federal law that criminalizes doping in international sporting events. The man, Eric Lira, described by prosecutors as a “naturopathic therapist”, is accused of providing performance-enhancing drugs to at least two athletes, including at least one sprinter who used them to support his performance at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.
Federal prosecutors in New York announced the charges Wednesday in the first indictment under the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act. Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement that the move is aimed at “those who tarnish the games and want to profit from this corruption”.
The Winter Olympics in Beijing begin three weeks later on February 4th.
The law, passed in 2020, criminalizes aiding or enabling doping at international sporting events, including the Olympics, but has been widely criticized for not applying to a major American sports league like the NFL or Major League Baseball. The law is named after Russian doping informant Grigory Rodchenkov. Revealed Russia’s state-sponsored doping scheme in 2016 and then fled to the United States.
While the Rodchenkov Act was passed with support from Democrats, Republicans and the United States Anti-Doping Agency, international sports organizations such as the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency described it as an oversight of government.
In the case, announced Wednesday, 41-year-old Lira was charged with an international count of sports doping and a misbranding conspiracy alleging mislabeling of drugs used in the program.
Federal officials did not release the names of the athletes they said had taken drugs from Lira. But from the details given in the criminal complaint, it is clear that one of them is Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare, who won a silver medal in the long jump at the 2008 Olympics.
Okagbare competed in the 100m race at the Tokyo Olympics and earned a first-round rank before competing. suspended for doping and disqualification from the semi-finals. Okagbare tested positive for human growth hormone, according to the Athletics Integrity Unit, the antidoping arm of the athletics governing body.
Okagbare’s representative did not respond to a phone call or text message seeking comment. Descriptive details about the second athlete were scarce, including whether he competed in Tokyo or tested positive for banned substances.
Little is known about the lira. He calls himself a “kinesiologist and naturopathic ND” on social media sites and is an executive member of Med Sport, a Texas-registered company, in 2017, according to his payroll. Not a licensed physician or physical therapist in Texas. New York or Florida, according to federal officials.
Lira competed in track and field for the University of Texas at El Paso between 2000 and 2004, according to a news article in the El Paso Times that said she was from NM, Sunland Park.
Lira was in an El Paso prison Wednesday afternoon and could not be reached for comment. It was not immediately clear whether he had hired a lawyer.
Kirsten Noyes contributed to research.
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