Ejowvokoghene Divine Oduduru (born 7 October 1996) is a Nigerian sprinter specializing in the 100-meter and

200-meter dash The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

. He holds personal bests of 9.86 seconds for the 100 m and 19.73 seconds for the 200 m. The latter is a Nigerian national record. In age category competitions, he was a twice-champion at the African Youth Athletics Championships, a five-time African Junior Champion in the sprints and the 200 m silver medallist at the 2014 World Junior Championships. He represented his country as a senior athlete at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

and

2014 African Championships in Athletics The 2014 African Championships in Athletics was held in Marrakech, Morocco from 10 to 14 August 2014. The competition was the 19th edition of Africa senior championships. The competition served as preparation to African athletes for the next conti ...

, before winning 200 m silver medals at the

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2019 African Games The 12th African Games (), also known as Rabat 2019 (), were held from 19 to 31 August 2019 in Rabat, Morocco. This was the first time that the African Games were hosted by Morocco following the country's readmission to the African Union in Janua ...

as well as the 2018 African Championships. He is a two-time Nigerian national champion and is a four-time NCAA champion in American collegiate competition, running for the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas, United States. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams us ...

. He is sponsored by Puma. Oduduru is currently serving a six-year ban set to expire in February 2029 for anti-doping rule violations.

Career

Under-20 competition

He was the gold medalist in both the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

at the 2013 African Youth Athletics Championships. He was a finalist in the 200 m at the 2013 World Youth Championships in Athletics. He won the 200 m at the 2013 African Junior Championships and was also a member of the Gold medal winning 4 × 100 m relay quartet. He successfully defended his 200 m title at the 2015 African Junior Championships and also added the 100 m and 4 × 100 m gold medals to his tally. This made him a five-time African Junior Champion. Oduduru became known for his interviews, with his interviews at the 2013 World Youth Championships in Athletics gaining popularity among fans, including his phrase 'deadly day'. Memes and videos have been generated using his responses to journalists. He lamented the inadequate support for Nigerian athletes and made a plea for sponsorship during the 2016 Nigeria Championships. In 2014, he dipped under 21 seconds for the first time. He became the Nigerian National Champion in the 200 metres. After setting a PB of 20.66 s in the semifinals at the 2014 World Junior Championships, he went on to win the silver medal in a windy 20.25 s behind Trentavis Friday of the US.

Senior career

He led off the Nigerian 4x100 metres relay team at the

, a team supported by former American athletes, Monzavous Edwards and Mark Jelks, who were running for Nigeria in their first international relay. Due to illness, he pulled out of the 2015 Nigerian Championships and could not defend his 200 m title. He, however, bounced back for the

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

. Oduduru ran a PB of 20.45 s into a headwind of 1.2 m/s to win the silver medal behind Ivorian sprinter, Hua Wilfried Koffi. His team mate and 2015 Nigerian champion Tega Odele placed third. Oduduru was selected for the 200 m at the 2016 African Championships in Durban. After posting the second-fastest time in the semifinals, he did not run in the finals due to injury. At the 2018 Michael Johnson Invitational meet in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

, Divine improved his personal best in the 100 m to 10.10 s, improving the

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

school record by 0.01 s. A year later at the same meet he improved his personal bests and set world-leading times of 9.94 s and 19.76 s, in the 100 m and 200 m respectively. His time in the 200 m broke the national record of 19.84 s set by Francis Obikwelu in 1999. During 2019, he focused mainly on collegiate competition. He set a personal best in the 60-meter dash at the 2019 Big 12 Indoor Championships, running 6.52 seconds for the distance to win the regional title. He also won the 200 m Big 12 Indoor title. At the

2019 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2019 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships was the 55th NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 38th NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Birmingham CrossPlex in ...

he won the 200 m title and placed seventh in the 60 m final. At the Big 12 Outdoor Championships, he won the 100 m in 9.99 seconds, having broken the

10-second barrier The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less ...

for the first time at the earlier Michael Johnson Invitational meet. He also helped the Texas Tech Red Raiders to the 4 × 100 m relay title. At the

2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships was the 98th NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 38th NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at Mike A. Myers Stadium in ...

, he won a sprint double in the 100 m and 200 m, as well as taking third in the 4 × 100 m relay. His 100 m time of 9.86 seconds was the fastest in the world at that point of the season, and his 200 m time of 19.73 seconds was a championships record. Oduduru made his debut on the 2019 IAAF Diamond League circuit at the 2019 Herculis meet, but finished in last place.

Doping ban

In October 2023, Oduduru was issued with a six-year ban for anti-doping rule violations relating to use of human growth hormones and EPO. The ban is set to run until February 2029 with all of his results from July 12, 2021 were disqualified. The investigation was connected to the case of

Blessing Okagbare Blessing Oghnewresem Okagbare-Otegheri (born 9 October 1988) is a former Nigerian track and field athlete who specialized in long jump and sprints. She is an Olympic and World Championships medallist in the long jump and a world medalist in t ...

, his compatriot who was banned for 11 years in 2022.

Statistics

*Information from

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

profile.

Personal bests

Seasonal bests

International competitions

National competitions

*NCAA results from Track & Field Results Reporting System.

Track records

As of September 2024, Oduduru holds the following track records for 100 metres and 200 metres.

100 metres

200 metres

Notes

References

External links

* *
Divine Oduduru
at

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oduduru, Divine Living people 1996 births Sportspeople from Delta State Nigerian male sprinters Olympic athletes for Nigeria Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games athletes for Nigeria Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games African Games silver medalists for Nigeria African Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 African Games Texas Tech Red Raiders men's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 African Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen Doping cases in athletics Nigerian sportspeople in doping cases