Divine Oduduru Received a Six-Year Ban for Sport Doping

Nigerian sprinter, Divine Oduduru, has been given a six-year ban after he was found to have taken drugs twice thus violating doping laws

The decision was made public on Thursday by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), which stated that the former world junior silver medallist was the subject of “overwhelming evidence.”

The offenses included trying to use a prohibited substance or method and possessing prohibited materials.

Teammate Blessing Okagbare, who was banned for 11 years in 2022 for doping, had a case similar to Oduduru’s.

AIU head Brett Clothier stated, “We are very pleased with the outcome of this matter, given its particularly grievous nature, exposing the sinister collusion between athletes and other persons in deliberate plans to corrupt athletics at the highest level.”

On February 9, 2023, Oduduru was placed on temporary leave.

The case of Okagbare surfaced when US prosecutors accused therapist Eric Lira of giving performance-enhancing drugs to Olympic athletes in Tokyo.

Considerable evidence was presented against Oduduru, including screenshots of WhatsApp exchanges between Okagbare and Lira showing Okagbare requesting illegal substances on Oduduru’s behalf.

Throughout the course of the inquiry, Oduduru, 27, insisted on his innocence.

With a personal best time of 9:86 seconds in the 100 meters, Oduduru was eliminated in the Tokyo 100 meters heats but advanced to the 200 meters semi-finals. 2014 World Junior Athletics Championship silver was won by him in the 200m.

“The AIU is totally dedicated to identifying cheaters and the size of their networks. We frequently collaborate closely with other investigative organizations in our efforts to uphold the integrity of athletics,” Clothier said.

“We appreciate the support provided by the US Department of Justice and the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), whose extensive legal resources yielded crucial evidence that aided both in this case and our previous one involving Blessing Okagbare last year. “

The AIU continued, “Photographic proof of several illegal substances found in Oduduru’s Florida apartment. “

Two boxes containing human growth hormone, identified as Somatropin, Xerendip, and Humatrope, three vials in a plastic bag labeled “IGF LR3” (short for synthetic Insulin Growth Factor), and two boxes containing erythropoietin (EPO) were among the evidence discovered.