ORLANDO — A 46-year-old Jacksonville man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to influence major international sports competitions by doping, a scheme that prosecutors say was aimed at boosting a professional track and field athlete’s performances through illegal testosterone injections — with the ultimate target being the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Paul Alexander Askew faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison after entering his plea in the Middle District of Florida, United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, the conspiracy ran from approximately July 10, 2023, through January 31, 2024. During that span, Askew conspired with a professional track and field athlete and at least one other person to provide the athlete with testosterone, a banned substance, to improve the athlete’s performances at major international competitions. The doping was ongoing during the athlete’s appearances at the 2023 Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis, Tennessee; the 2023 Xiamen Diamond League in China; and the 2023 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.
Prosecutors said the conspiracy extended beyond those three events. Askew and the athlete also intended to use illegal testosterone injections to improve the athlete’s performance at the 2024 American Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, the 2024 United States Olympics Trials and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The doping conspiracy was revealed before the athlete could compete in those later events.
The case was investigated by the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the Drug Enforcement Administration — a joint effort reflecting the federal government’s use of criminal statutes to police doping in international athletics. The Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, signed into law in 2020, gave federal prosecutors authority to bring criminal charges in doping schemes involving major international competitions, a tool previously unavailable to U.S. law enforcement.
Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Flanigan is prosecuting the case. Askew’s sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.