Sport
Athletics Kenya bans three marathon runners for doping offences
Athletics officials in the east African country have long denied that any of its athletes use illegal drugs but the former 3,000m steeplechase world record holder Moses Kiptanui last week poured cold water on those claims.
“The information shows that there are a good number of athletes out there who are using drugs,” the three-time world steeplechase champion and Olympic silver medallist told BBC radio in an interview.
“They want to get money by all means. Either by a genuine way or another way. We have put rules in place. If we don’t use these rules then athletes will still use these drugs.”
Athletics Kenya officials hit back, accusing Kiptanui of making “malicious claims which may destroy the careers of upcoming athletes” and maintained that he should have raised his concerns with them first.
But Kiptanui has been supported by several former athletes, albeit anonymously, who said doping was a deep-seated problem and may affect many Kenyan athletes.
On the latest suspensions, Athletics Kenya secretary David Okeyo said: “These cases were brought to us by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF world governing body).
“We took the right step by suspending them first, pending investigations,” he told AFP. “The athletes’ A and B samples returned positive results for the banned substance abuse.”
