Focus on Africa 400m silver medallist Mweresa over doping

African Games 400m silver medallist Boniface Mweresa has come under scrutiny over reports of a failed dope test.

Mweresa has subsequently been sent packing from Team Kenya camp ahead of the Africa Athletics Championships that start on Wednesday next week in Asaba, Delta State in Nigeria.

Mweresa, who represented Kenya at the 2013 and 2017 editions of the World Championships in Moscow and London respectively is said to have been busted by Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya officials during the Kenya Defence Forces Championships held from June 6 to 8 at Kasarani.

However, Mweresa, who pleaded his innocence, on Friday said he has been stopped from competing until he is cleared.

Mweresa, who will now miss the Africa Championships, explained that he had declared in Adak forms all the supplements he has been using and maintained he did nothing illegal.

The athlete said he would challenge the decision to stop him from competing at the Sports Dispute Tribunal.

“I have been using a supplement called ‘Yeah Buddy’ and I declared it in the forms,” Mweresa said.

“Adak summoned me on Monday and told me that I had used some banned substance, warning me not to compete until the case is over.”

Mweresa claimed silver medals in 400m for Kenya at the 2015 African Games where he also claimed gold in 4x400m race.

Mweresa was part of Team Kenya for the 2014 (Glasgow) and 2017 (Gold Coast) editions of Commonwealth Games. In Gold Coast, he reached the semi-finals of 400m and the 4x400m final before his team was disqualified.

COMPETED IN JUNIOR EVENTS

The 24-year-old sprinter also represented Kenya at the 2012 World Under-20 Championships in Barcelona, finishing seventh in 400m.

He came fifth in 400m at 2016 World Indoor Championships in Portland, USA.

He claimed silver in 4x400m at the 2016 Africa Championships in athletics in Durban, South Africa, and was also part of Kenya’s 4x400m relays team that was disqualified at the 2012 London Olympics.

Mweresa reached the semi-finals of 400m during the 2017 London and made it to the 2015 and 2017 World relays in Bahams where they failed to reach the 4s400m final.

The sprinter becomes the third high-profile Kenyan athlete to have tested positive for banned substance in the last two months after three times World 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop and Kenyan-born Olympic 3,000m steeplechase champion Ruth Jebet from Bahrain.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) confirmed last week that it was investigating Kiprop and Jebet for substance abuse.

Team Kenya team manager Abraham Mutai did not deny or confirm the development but said doping is a sensitive issue and directed our questions to Athletics Kenya CEO Susan Kamau.

When contacted for comment, Kamau promised to clear the air on the matter but did not get back by press time.

Simon Mwangi, who is in charge of communication at Adak, said he couldn’t discuss anything concerning doping until the athlete’s appeal is heard.

Kenya has been under the cloud of doping for several years now with a number of top elite athletes testing positive for use of banned substances'.