US man gets prison for Tokyo Olympics doping charge

FILE PHOTO: The Tokyo 2020 Olympics Opening Ceremony - Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - July 23, 2021. Fireworks are seen from outside the stadium during the Opening Ceremony. REUTERS/Naoki Ogura/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Texas man who pleaded guilty to involvement in providing banned performance-enhancing drugs to athletes before the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was sentenced on Wednesday to three months in prison, U.S. prosecutors in Manhattan said.

Eric Lira, 44, of El Paso, had been the first person charged under the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, a 2020 federal law that criminalizes doping schemes that are intended to influence sports events.