Running News Daily

Kenya's Celestine Chepchirchir issued with three-year ban for doping offence

Kenyan runner Celestine Chepchirchir has been banned for three years after testing positive for a prohibited substance, forfeiting all recent titles and awards

Kenyan road runner Celestine Chepchirchir has been banned for three years from competing after being found to have violated World Athletics anti-doping rules.

The 28-year-old athlete provided a urine sample out-of-competition in Kapsabet on February 9, 2024 which tested positive for exogenous testosterone and its metabolites.

According to the official AIU statement, the laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland, identified the presence of testosterone and its metabolites—Androsterone, Etiocholanolone, 5α-androstane-3α,17 diol, and 5β-androstane-3α,17 diol—as being of exogenous origin. 

"Ms. Celestine Chepchirchir did not have a Therapeutic Use Exemption that would justify the presence of these substances," the AIU confirmed. 

The ruling added that there was no departure from the International Standard for Testing and Investigations or the International Standard for Laboratories that could explain the adverse finding.

The athlete faced a mandatory four-year period of ineligibility for such a violation under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) guidelines.

However, Chepchirchir's prompt admission of the violations and her acceptance of the consequences enabled her to benefit from a reduced three-year ban.

"The athlete did not reply within the initial deadline but subsequently signed an Admission of Anti-Doping Rule Violations and Acceptance of Consequences Form," the AIU reported.

Celestine Chepchirchir's ban will commence from March 26, 2024, the date on which her provisional suspension was first imposed.

Moreover, all her results post-February 9, 2024, will be disqualified, with all consequent titles, awards, medals, points, prizes, and appearance money forfeited. 

Rights of appeal against the decision are available to WADA and the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK), which could potentially take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. 

The AIU has confirmed that this decision will be publicly reported on their website as part of their commitment to transparency and fairness in the handling of doping cases in athletics.

This case marks another in a series of doping incidents involving Kenyan athletes a troubling pattern that has drawn global attention to the nation's sports programs.