‘I attempted suicide four times’ — Oduduru breaks silence on doping ban

Divine Oduduru, the Nigerian sprinter, says he attempted suicide four times following his doping ban. 

In October 2023, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) sanctioned Oduduru with a six-year ban for breaching two anti-doping rules.

The sprinter was banned for four years for possessing and attempting to use prohibited substances and an additional two years for “aggravating circumstances” during the investigation.

The 28-year-old had remained quiet about the incident publicly.

However, in a post on Instagram on Friday, Oduduru revealed that he “wanted to end everything”, adding that his silence on the issue was “due to my mental health”.

He then said he would be granting interviews to tell his side of the story.

“Thanks to everyone, to my lovely fans who have been supporting me right from the beginning of my career,” the post reads.

“I know a lot of you have been waiting to hear from me about the issue that happened. I have been quiet all this time due to my mental health.

“I attempted suicide 4 times, just wanted to end everything, because all this things that happened is still a shock to me. After all the years of sacrifice. I will be granting interviews, and I am working on coming to life on my Instagram to tell my side of what happened.”

ODUDURU’S CASE LINKED TO BLESSING OKAGBARE’S BAN

Oduduru was identified as one of the clients of Eric Lira, a self-acclaimed kinesiologist and naturopathic doctor, who pleaded guilty in a case tagged “US’ first Olympic anti-doping charges”.

He was sanctioned, alongside Blessing Okagbare, as a collaborator with Eric 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 its verdict, AIU said WhatsApp messages between Okagbare and Lira revealed that the former was “soliciting prohibited substances on Oduduru’s behalf”.

The anti-doping body added that “photographic evidence of multiple Prohibited Substances discovered in Oduduru’s Florida apartment.”

AIU added that all the prohibited substances found in Oduduru’s apartment were precisely those that Okagbare requested from Lira for both athletes.

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

However, Oduduru maintained his innocence throughout the investigation.