Divine Oduduru gets six-year ban for doping violation

The disciplinary tribunal of the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has handed Divine Oduduru, the Nigerian sprinter, a six-year ban for breaching two anti-doping rules.

According to the statement released by AIU on Thursday, the Nigerian got a four-year ban for the possession of prohibited substances and the attempted use of a prohibited substance and an additional two years for “aggravating circumstances”.

He was also ordered to pay $3000 to the World Athletics for its expenses regarding the case.

He had been provisionally suspended in February after he was identified as one of the clients of Eric Lira, a self-acclaimed kinesiologist and naturopathic doctor, who pleaded guilty in a case titled “US’ first Olympic anti-doping charges”.

Oduduru was sanctioned, alongside Blessing Okagbare, as a collaborator with Lira.

Lira was accused of providing performance-enhancing drugs to athletes who participated in the Tokyo Olympics.

In 2022, Okagbare was banned for 11 years following an investigation by AIU after she failed an out-of-competition doping test.

In the latest statement, AIU said WhatsApp messages between Okagbare and Lira revealed that the former was “soliciting prohibited substances on Oduduru’s behalf”.

“And photographic evidence of multiple Prohibited Substances discovered in Oduduru’s Florida apartment,” the statement reads.

“The Prohibited Substances found in Oduduru’s apartment were two boxes of Somatropin, ‘Xerendip’ and ‘Humatrope’, which were identified as human growth hormone; a plastic ziplock bag labelled ‘IGF LR3’ – an abbreviation for synthetic or ‘recombinant’ Insulin Growth Factor – containing three vials, and two boxes of recombinant erythropoietin (EPO). According to testimony, one of the boxes of EPO was open and had only one of six vials remaining.

“Also discovered in the apartment was an opened US Postal Service envelope containing ‘Xerendip’ – addressed to Okagbare and with Lira labelled as the sender.

“The Panel finds it to be an extraordinary coincidence that all the Prohibited Substances found in the Athlete’s apartment were precisely those requested from Mr. Lira by Ms. Okagbare for her and ‘Divine’, specifying that she had to give (to Divine) his stuff too and for which she tested positive (EPO and hGH).”

According to the AIU, Oduduru maintained his innocence throughout the investigation.

The ban takes retroactive effect from February 9, 2023, until February 8 2029.