Divine Oduduru, a four-time NCAA champion has been banned for six years for his role in a doping case first pursued by United States authorities.
The Athletics Integrity Unit said on Thursday that it has found the Nigerian sprinter guilty of possession and use or attempted use of multiple prohibited substances when he competed for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
He has also been instructed to pay World Athletics $3,000 for the expenses related to the case.
“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,” said Brett Clothier, Head of the AIU.
The case began when US prosecutor filed a case against Eric Lira, who was accused of supplying performance-enhancement drugs to athletes at the Tokyo Olympics.
Blessing Okagbare who is Oduduru’s teammate received a ban of 11 years for doping in the build up to the Tokyo Olympics.
She failed to cooperate with the investigation. Okagbare’s phone was examined by the US Custom and Border and they found “highly incriminating text and voice messages” exchanged with Lira, the FBI said.
