Oct 23 - Kenya's world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned blood booster EPO in a sample taken before her Sydney Marathon victory, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Friday.

The AIU added that the out-of-competition sample collected in Kenya returned an adverse analytical finding for EPO (erythropoietin), which boosts the production of red blood cells.

"I can only say that I feel terrible about what happened and I think it's only right that an athlete who uses the performance enhancing drugs should be disqualified," her agent Gianni Demadonna said in an emailed statement.

The 33-year-old is a former Olympic champion and half-marathon world record holder as well as a four-times World Marathon Majors winner.

She won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and has also claimed major marathon victories in New York (2021), Boston (2022), London (2024) and Sydney (2026).

Jepchirchir dominated the women's race in Sydney in August, pulling clear of the field to finish in 2:18:31, more than three minutes ahead of second-placed compatriot Irine Cheptai.

Last year, Kenya's women's marathon world record holder Ruth Chepngetich was banned for three years after admitting anti-doping rule violations involving hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), a prohibited diuretic, though her world record of 2:09:56 remained on the books because it was set before her positive test. REUTERS