Divine Oduduru has revealed the struggles and mistreatment he endured under coach Rana Reider, including neglect, unfair treatment, and threats during his time at Tumbleweed Track Club.
Nigerian sprint sensation Divine Oduduru has opened about how he suffered in the hands of controversial American coach Rana Reider at the Tumbleweed Track Club in Jacksonville, Florida.
Oduduru was banned for six years in October, 2023 and his ban will run through to February 2029. The former world junior silver medallist was banned for two doping violations, possession of prohibited substances and attempted use of a prohibited substance.
He went undercover since the ban and was not taking in any interviews but seems like 2025 is the season where he begins his truth journey and he started off with a confession of how difficult like became when he signed with Puma after turning pro in 2019.
ai = d.createElement(‘script’);
ai.defer = true;
ai.async = true;
ai.src = v.location.protocol + o;
d.head.appendChild(ai);
})(window, document, ‘//a.vdo.ai/core/v-pulsesports-co-ke-v0/vdo.ai.js’);
The Nigerian sprint star revealed that after making the bold step, he was required to leave his then coach and join Rana Reider in Florida. At first, he was reluctant about it but following persuasion from the agent, he decided to give it a try despite not being fully convinced.
Oduduru disclosed that upon reaching the training camp, he never felt safe or at peace following how he was treated and how the coach never gave him the attention like he did to his other favourite athletes including Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse.
The 28-year-old revealed that he was subjected to very heavy work outs, those that middle and long-distance athletes were required to do and his fellow sprinters did what he termed normal. Upon asking his coach, he would be chased away from training for sometime and he further disclosed that he received death threats from Rana Reider.
“When I signed with Puma I was still training with my coach then the person of my agent, Paul Doha, said that Puma requested that I should go train with a specific coach and I said I didn’t want to go and train with that coach since I didn’t know him and he didn’t know my system,” Divine Oduduru said in an interview with Bold Sports.
“I think before I actually went to the group the coach had already condemned me and it was more of he didn’t even like me. I was wondering why Paul and Puma would want me to go and train with someone who didn’t want to work with me.
“When I got into shape and started running fast, he would switch me and start building me up again. I never talked back at my coach but it got to a stage that I really had to tell him and the likes of De Grasse and others were doing short sprints while I was running the quarter miles and other work outs. He defended himself noting that he was the coach and he sent me out of practice, and insisted that I did not have the right to tell him anything.”
)
The three-time world champion insists that Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce still have plenty more to offer the world.
Divine Oduduru further reached out to the agent and pointed out that he was having a difficult time but his cries seemingly fell on deaf ears. For treatment, the Nigerian explained that Rana Redier’s favourite athletes would be prioritised for treatment while the rest of them would not be taken care of like the rest.
This include some Jamaican athletes and other American sprinters including Trayvon Bromell but the former world indoor champion still trains under Reider.
“I was having issues with the coach too because from the onset, I was having issues with him. The coach told me that he was going to stab me and kill me and nothing would happen,” an angry Divine added.
)
Dutch woman Sifan Hassan has disclosed the Kenyan marathoner she fears the most as she disclosed that Faith Kipyegon is destined for more success if she moves to the marathon.
“He saw me vulnerable and saw the fact that nobody would question him because when everything was happening in Florida, he switched my program. He would choose his favourite athletes to get supplements while the rest of us, including Jamaican athletes and Trayvon Bromell complained.”
Divine explained that at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, he was informed that only Andre De Grasse was being trained for a gold medal and he was always sidelined.
At the event, De Grasse claimed the gold in the 200m while Divine failed to make the cut to the final after finishing third in the semifinal. He was disqualified from the 100m.
