Today’s announcement regarding the six-year sanction of Divine Oduduru under the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act (RADA) is another example of how the act is driving accountability in sport by exposing networks of conspirators working against clean athletes.
“Justice is once again being served in international sport thanks to the scope of RADA and the commitment of principled organizations like the Athletics Integrity Unit to seek the truth,” said USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart. “We are honored to support all clean athletes through the act, and this is another win for those who value fair sport.”
A panel of independent arbitrators determined that Oduduru committed anti-doping rule violations that warranted a four-year suspension and concluded that another two years were appropriate for aggravating circumstances due to the athlete’s attempted use of multiple prohibited substances ahead of World Athletics’ competitions and the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The case arose out of the criminal investigation into Eric Lira, who was the first person to plead guilty under RADA for providing prohibited substances to Olympic athletes, including Oduduru, ahead of the Tokyo Games. Without RADA, Lira, who positioned himself as a doctor to athletes, likely would have escaped consequence for his conspiracy to defraud the Tokyo Games because he did not fall under any sport anti-doping rules.
RADA requires the sharing of information between law enforcement and USADA, and that collaboration has led to numerous cases and anti-doping rule violations, including the decision against Sabina Allen and the decision against Blessing Okagbare that prevented her from defrauding the Tokyo Games. In the case of Oduduru and Okagbare, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) brought the anti-doping cases and worked closely with USADA to successfully investigate and compile evidence. The ongoing collaboration between anti-doping organizations, law enforcement, and other federal agencies will continue to hold those accountable who conspire against the rules to rob clean athletes and defraud sport.
RADA was signed into law following the unprecedented state-sponsored doping fraud perpetrated by the Russian state and sport system on innocent athletes and fans across the globe.
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