AK bans athletes over doping

Athletics Kenya General Secretary David Okeyo waves to Athletics Officials during the Athletics Kenya London Olympics qualifiers on June 21, 2012 at Nyayo National Stadium. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Athletics Kenya (AK) secretary general David Okeyo Friday confirmed that marathoners Wilson Erupe Loyanae and Nixon Kiplagat Cherutich have each been handed a two-year suspension, while Moses Kiptoo Kurgat will stay for a year in the cold after his A and B samples failed the test for banned substances.
  • But Francis Kibiwott who represented Kenya at the 2007 World Half Marathon in Udine, Italy, has been pardoned after a successful appeal.

Three Kenyan athletes have been banned for periods ranging between one and two years over various doping offences.

Athletics Kenya (AK) secretary general David Okeyo Friday confirmed that marathoners Wilson Erupe Loyanae and Nixon Kiplagat Cherutich have each been handed a two-year suspension, while Moses Kiptoo Kurgat will stay for a year in the cold after his A and B samples failed the test for banned substances.

But Francis Kibiwott who represented Kenya at the 2007 World Half Marathon in Udine, Italy, has been pardoned after a successful appeal.

Kibiwot pardoned

Kibiwott was pardoned by the medical commission of world athletics body IAAF since his case was based on medical grounds.

The IAAF ruled that didn’t use any performance-enhancing drugs.

There is a possibility that another female athlete could face the wrath of IAAF after her A sample returned positive last October during the 2012 Standard Chartered Nairobi International Marathon.

The 27-year-old Erupe, who won the 2011 Mombasa Marathon and 2011 South Korea’s Gyeongju International Marathon, tested positive erythropoietin (EPO) in an out-of-competition test last year.

After finishing sixth at the Kisumu Marathon and seventh at the Kass Marathon, Erupe won the Mombasa Marathon in 2 hours and 13:00 minutes before clocking 2:09:23 for his first international victory in South Korea.

Kiplagat, who finished third at the 2012 Pittsburgh Marathon in a personal best of 2:14:46, tested positive for the anabolic steroid Nandrolone, after competing in a race in Mexico. Kiptoo clocked a personal best of 2:08:40 at last year’s Gyeongju International Marathon.

Quick action

 “It was imperative that we act before investigating further after the cases were brought to us by the IAAF,” said Okeyo.

“There is nothing to hide and we shall expose the few athletes bent on tarnishing our name since not all athletes take banned substances.”

Okeyo said the AK has constantly advised athletes to always inform the secretariat what drugs they are taking when they fall sick so as to enable them present their cases  in case of any eventuality.

Four Kenyan athletes were banned last year for doping, including Matthew Kisorio who was in Kenya’s team for the 2011 World Cross-country Championships.

Kisorio tested positive for steroids at the 2012 Athletics Kenya Championships and confessed to using drugs.