Athletics Integrity Unit v. Blessing Solomon

Nigerian long-distance runner Blessing Solomon provided a urine sample in-competition at the Abuja Premium Trust Half Marathon on 6 December 2025. WADA-accredited laboratory analysis in Lausanne, Switzerland returned an Adverse Analytical Finding for Trimetazidine, a metabolic modulator classified under the 2025 WADA Prohibited List (category S4) as a non-specified substance prohibited at all times.

Solomon did not challenge the finding but stated she did not know how the substance entered her body, and signed a formal Admission of Anti-Doping Rule Violations and Acceptance of Consequences. Because Trimetazidine is non-specified and she could not establish the violation was unintentional, the standard four-year sanction applied, reduced by one year for her prompt admission and cooperation — resulting in a three-year period of ineligibility.

Directly relevant to Nigerian practice: this is an AIU sanction against a Nigerian athlete arising from a race held in Abuja, illustrating both the strict-liability standard applied under the World Anti-Doping Code and the limited, procedural mitigation available for a prompt admission.