Running News Daily

Two more Kenyan marathoners suspended for failing doping tests

Two more Kenyan distance runners have been suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for failing drugs tests, including Hangzhou Marathon winner Michael Kunyuga.

Kunyuga tested positive for norandrosterone and Maiyo Johnstone Kibet returned a sample found to contain erythropoietin (EPO).

Both are provisionally suspended as a consequence.

Norandrosterone is a product of nandrolone, an anabolic androgenic steroid known to accelerate muscle growth and recovery, while EPO boosts an athlete's endurance as it gives blood a greater capacity for carrying oxygen.

Kunyuga has a personal best in the marathon of 2 hours 6min 43sec, which ranks him among the 250 fastest athletes of all time.

The Kenyan's best results include winning the 2018 Hangzhou Marathon in 2:10:37 and placing fifth in the 2020 Seville Marathon, when Kunyuga set that personal best.

Kunyunga also won the Hengshui Lake Marathon and Padova Marathon in 2017.

Kibet's personal best in the marathon is 2:10:02, set in 2011 in Frankfurt.

In 2016, Kibet triumphed at the Wuhan Marathon.

The provisional suspensions are the latest in a long line of doing sanctions levied against Kenyan athletes.

Fifty banned Kenyans are listed on the AIU's database of ineligible persons, a national tally smaller only than Russia's.

A further seven, including Kibet and Kunyuga, are provisionally suspended.

Kenya is one of seven Category A nations deemed by the AIU to have the highest doping risk, along with Bahrain, Belarus, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria and Ukraine.