IG meets Asbel Kiprop, calls him a hero
Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai (right) shakes hands with three-times World 1,500m champion Abel Kiprop after their meeting at the National Police Service headquarters at Jogoo House in Nairobi on April 30, 2019. PHOTO | NATIONAL POLICE SERVICE |
What you need to know:
- Kiprop was tentatively suspended by IAAF’s Athletes Integrity Unit (AIU) in May last year after having tested positive to blood boosting Erythropoietin (EPO) in an out-of-competition test in Iten in November 2017.
- In his defence, Kiprop continues to maintain his position that the alleged EPO doping in the sample of November 27, 2017 is either natural or the sample used to effect the test was not his sample, or otherwise was contaminated.
Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai on Tuesday described beleaguered three-time World 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop as a hero.
Mutyambai met the troubled former 2008 Beijing Olympics 1,500m champion, who is a Chief Inspector, at the National Police Service headquarters, Jogoo House in Nairobi.
“Kiprop is our hero, we must never forget him,” said Mutyambai in a post on the National Police Service Facebook page.
Kiprop, who had officially been handed four years ban by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) on April 20 this year after failing a doping test, had threatened do to something nasty in a post on his Twitter handle.
Kiprop, 29, dared his National Police Service employers to sack him and withdraw his firearm before he uses it to “earn justice.”
He also dared the IAAF to take all the medals he won in global competitions, where he specialises in the 1,500 metres race.
“I pray to National Police Service to dismiss me now. Before I use their machinery to earn myself justice. Kindly. IAAF come take your medals. I don’t need any on my house wall,” he tweeted at 3.23pm on Saturday.
A day before, the seemingly disturbed athlete had sent another tweet saying: “They can’t stand me now and for me to earn justice but if I die today, they will attend my send off to testify my legacy & preach my legacy!! Don’t welcome them.”
The Deputy Inspector General of the National Police Service in charge of logistics and functions, Joseph Kiget, who is also the chairman of Police Athletics, had promised intervention to help the disturbed Kiprop.
Kiprop was tentatively suspended by IAAF’s Athletes Integrity Unit (AIU) in May last year after having tested positive to blood boosting Erythropoietin (EPO) in an out-of-competition test in Iten in November 2017.
In his defence, Kiprop continues to maintain his position that the alleged EPO in the sample of November 27, 2017 is either natural or the sample used to effect the test was not his sample, or otherwise was contaminated.
Kiprop also alleged that the procedure used to test the alleged artificial EPO was flawed with the result of mistaking natural EPO as artificial EPO.
Kiprop’s ban has been back-dated from February 3, 2018, but the athlete has another opportunity to appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
