Kenyan athletes voice concern over reputation damage as doping scandal unfolds

By Amy Tennery and Christine Kiernan

Kenyan runners reacted with dismay on Thursday to another doping case involving one of their compatriots, after former New York City Marathon winner Peres Jepchirchir was provisionally suspended, casting a shadow over the build-up to Sunday’s race.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Friday that it had provisionally suspended Jepchirchir after she tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO ​in a sample taken before her Sydney Marathon victory.

Her agent said at the time: “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.”

“It’s so shameful,” said men’s defending champion Benson Kipruto. “Somebody like that, high-profile name, can ruin the name of athletes not only in Kenya but all over the world because we are here now, running, and maybe people will say, ‘No, these people are not clean.’”

Jepchirchir completed one of marathon running’s greatest achievements when she won the five-borough classic just weeks after taking Olympic gold in 2021.

Kipruto called for more testing in the run-up to the World Marathon Majors, particularly among highly decorated athletes.

“If I’m coming to run the TCS New York City Marathon and I have some appearance fee, I would propose that they cut my appearance fee and send to AIU people to come and intensify my testing for maybe three months to make sure I’m clean and I come here to run clean,” he said.

More than 140 Kenyan athletes have faced doping sanctions since the AIU was established in 2017 and Jepchirchir’s provisional suspension is a fresh embarrassment just weeks after World Athletics awarded its world championships to Nairobi for 2029.

Athletics Kenya said on Monday that it maintains an “unwavering policy of zero tolerance to doping”.

Jepchirchir is allowed to appeal and request an analysis of her B sample. New York’s defending women’s champion Hellen Obiri said the news meant anti-doping measures were working but stopped short of assigning guilt until the B sample analysis occurs.

“If (it is) true, that would be shocking news and it would be so bad for the Kenyans,” said Obiri.