Kenyan athlete gets two-year doping ban
Photo | FILE
Dejere Abera of Ethiopia (left) beats Kenyans Cosmas Kyeva (right) and Julius Maisei at the finish line to win the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on February 5, 2012 in one of the closest finishes ever in a marathon race.
International Athletics Associations of Federations (Iaaf) has handed Cosmas Mutuku Kyeva a two-year ban for failing a dope test.
The little-known Kenyan long distance runner is said to have used a banned substance during the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on February 5 this year.
The 27-year-old handed finished third in the race, posting a personal best time of two hours, 11 minutes and 28 seconds, and also won last year’s Poznan Marathon in Poland in a course record time of 2:11:53.
Painkiller
Kyeva confirmed having received a letter from Athletics Kenya (AK) in April relating to the ban but pleaded innocence, saying he has never used performance-enhancing drugs in his life.
“I remember before I left for Hong Kong Marathon I had a nagging ankle pain where a doctor prescribed some painkiller, Movera, which I took, and no other drug before the race,” he said.
The development comes in the wake of allegations by sports journalist Hajo Seppelt on German television channel ARD on May 19 that some Kenyan athletes abuse banned substances.
