What athletes should expect at AK's Anti-Doping Day
What you need to know:
- Athletics Kenya North Rift public relations officer Boniface Tiren said all is set for the day.
As the country prepares to mark the second anniversary of the Anti-Doping Day which will be celebrated in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County on Friday, Athletics Kenya is focused on ensuring the sport is clean.
AK President Jackson Tuwei Wednesday told Nation Sport they will visit all counties in a bid to fight doping and advocate for a clean sport.
“We are targeting to eradicate the doping menace and we will not tire preaching the importance of running clean. We started last year and this will be an annual thing as we seek to improve the welfare of the athletes,” said Tuwei.
“We have some few individuals who want quick money. I want to warn them that their days are numbered.”
Athletics Kenya North Rift public relations officer Boniface Tiren said all is set for the day.
“We are expecting a good number of the athletes to attend the event. We decided to hold the event in Iten because a large number of the athletes train and live around here,” said Tiren.
“We want to create awareness and protect the integrity of the sport in our country and the only way is to remind the athletes about the banned substances,” he added.
Last year, the event was marked in Nyahururu, Laikipia County and Kapsabet, Nandi County where a number of athletes hail from.
The Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (Adak) has been educating athletes and creating awareness on various matters during major races in the country.
World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) picked Nairobi-based Lancet Group of Laboratories East Africa which started its operation in September to be carrying out blood analysis in the region.
It will support the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) ABP program as well as other anti-doping programs in line with Adak’s mandate.
Adak CEO Japhter Rugut said the agency has so far educated over 58,000 athletes and will be targeting more as they seek to make the sport clean.
A growing number of star athletes have failed drugs tests in the country in the few years, forcing the IAAF to place Kenya on the doping watch list.
