The Athletics Integrity Unit has removed Nigeria’s national 200-meter record holder Divine Oduduru from competition for life due to two anti-doping violations.
Oduduru has been charged with “the possession and/or use or attempted use of multiple prohibited substances,” and he now faces a six-year ban.
The AIU is a disciplinary arm of World Athletics, the global athletics governing body.
This is the latest low point in Nigeria’s track and field history, coming about a year after Blessing Okagbare, the former captain of the national team, was banned for 11 years.
The AIU has established a connection between Oduduru and Okagbare’s misdemeanor, which was alleged to have occurred just prior to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in 2020; additional details have not yet been discovered.
Oduduru has a 100-meter personal best of 9.86 seconds and a 200-meter personal best of 19.73 seconds.
He reached the 200m semi-finals in Tokyo, but he was disqualified in the 100m heats.
