In a fresh hammer blow for Kenyan athletics, world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended for doping, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced on Friday.
The highly decorated 33-year-old Kenyan, who won Olympic gold in the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021, was suspended according to the BBC after an out-of-competition sample tested positive for banned blood booster EPO.
An athlete is provisionally suspended while their case is investigated.
140 Kenyans banned since 2017
Peres Jepchirchir joins more than 140 Kenyan athletes, including current women’s marathon world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich, who have been suspended or banned by the AIU since 2017.
The AIU said Jepchirchir’s out-of-competition sample had been collected in Kenya prior to her recent Sydney Marathon victory.
Jepchirchir’s lauded career has also seen her as a former world record-holder in the half-marathon while she is a four-time World Marathon Major winner having captured the Sydney Marathon (2026), the London Marathon (2024), the Boston Marathon (2022) and the New York Marathon (2021).
The decision of World Athletics to award Nairobi the 2029 world championships is likely to increase the scrutiny of the east African nation’s anti-doping policies.
Shocked by the news
Barnabas Korir, Athletics Kenya Youth Development Director and National Olympic Committee of Kenya vice president, said he was left feeling shocked by the news of the suspension.
“It’s a big disappointment coming soon after we were awarded the World Athletics Championship in 2029,” Korir told AFP.
“We are in shock, especially in the calibre of Peres Jepchirchir after a stellar career.
“We don’t know what is happening with our athletes.”
Kenya played host to a three-day visit from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) earlier this month, the body’s chief Witold Banka telling the country that it had to strive for zero tolerance on doping.
“Kenya proudly calls itself the Home of Champions. But for that home to remain respected and credible, it must also be clean,” Banka said.
“That is why Kenya needs a strong culture of clean sport, zero tolerance for doping, and a more determined approach to preventing and fighting doping.”
Cleaner sport
Banka said that joint cooperation with Kenyan authorities would help lay the foundations for a cleaner sport.
“WADA or ADAK (Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya) alone cannot achieve its vision if we do not cooperate with those who have the power to go against those who are producing, smuggling and trafficking dangerous steroids to your athletes,” he said.
“We’ve found a common understanding and we are on the same track and there’s a clear goal within Kenya for zero tolerance for doping policy and it has to be established immediately with joint actions and a more aggressive approach to those who are destroying the image of the country and the reputation of the athletes.”
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By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse