December 20, (THEWILL) – As a result of breaching anti-doping laws, three Kenyan athletes have been suspended for a total of eight years.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), which announced the verdict, imposed a three-year suspension on sprinter Mark Otieno and a two-year ban on marathon runners, Alice Jepkemboi Kimutai and Johnstone Kibet Maiyo.
THEWILL recalls that ahead of the 100-metre qualifying rounds of the Tokyo Olympics, Otieno tested positive for the illegal anabolic steroid methandienone. It meant that the 29-year-old was barred from competing in the sprint. The suspension of the three-time national 100m champion will finish in July 2023.
As for Kimutai, the November champion of the Porto Marathon, the AIU placed him on indefinite leave after testing positive for the male hormone testosterone on November 16. Meanwhile, the ban on Maiyo began on July 20, after he returned a positive erythropoietin (EPO) test result.
Despite having 55 athletes on suspension last month, the east African nation dodged a penalty from the sport’s governing body after promising to spend $25 million over the following five years, to fight doping by their athletes. Ababu Namwamba, Kenya’s Minister of Sports, then declared that the country wanted to make doping in athletics a crime in an effort to end a succession of incidents involving the country.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
