Running News Daily

Geneva Marathon winner disqualified for doping

The athlete claimed he did not know what EPO or furosemide were and had no idea how they both ended up in his body.

The winner of the 2024 Generali Geneva Marathon in Switzerland, Kibrom Weldemicael has been given a six-year doping ban after testing positive for two substances. Weldemicael was provisionally suspended just days before he was supposed to run at the 2024 Paris Olympics for Eritrea, now, the 37-year-old will be unable to compete until 2030, and his marathon win will be annulled.

According to the Athletics Integrity Unit, Weldemicael provided an in-competition urine sample after his win at May’s Geneva Marathon in 2:09:57. Three months later, a WADA laboratory in Cologne, Germany found an adverse finding in his May 5 sample for the presence of erythropoietin (EPO) and furosemide.

EPO enhances the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity by increasing red blood cell production, which can improve endurance and performance in long-distance runners. Furosemide is a diuretic (often referred to as a “water pill”), which helps the body get rid of excess salt and water by increasing urine production. The drug is typically used to lose weight quickly or to mask the use of other performance-enhancing drugs. EPO and furosemide are both prohibited substances on the WADA 2024 Prohibited List.

According to the AIU, Weldemicael was notified of the adverse finding in person at the Paris Olympics, where he was preparing to run for Eritrea in the men’s marathon. He was given a provisional suspension on Aug 9, after failing to file a written submission on why the suspension should not be imposed. A week later, the athlete provided an explanation saying he had not taken EPO, and said his red blood cell count was high because he had been training in high-altitude locations for his entire career. He also requested a test of his B sample.

Weldemicael failed to pay for the cost of the B sample test by the deadline, waiving his right to the analysis. He later claimed he did not know what EPO or furosemide were, had not taken either and was unable to explain the presence of both in his body.

The AIU said they reviewed the athlete’s explanation and it was clear he had committed an ADRV (Anti-Doping Rule Violation).

The 37-year-old, who ran his marathon personal best of 2:07:25 this year, will be ineligible to compete until May 2030. His result from the 2024 Geneva Marathon will be disqualified, but his win from Maratón BP Castellón in Spain in February will stand. His best performance at a major marathon was his eighth-place finish at the 2015 London Marathon.

14,000 set for 16th edition of Generali Genève Marathon

After two difficult years with the pandemic, the Generali Genève Marathon in Switzerland is returning to full strength with eight race formats on the event programme and some new features.

Organized by OC Sport, the main marathon event and the half marathon are set for Sunday, May 15, with a number of other events lined up for Saturday, May 14.

This year, financial services firm Generali has become a title partner; and its Swiss foundation, The Human Safety Net Switzerland (THSN), is on board as a charity partner. These two new partnerships will aim to breathe new life into the event, which has returned to its original red colored branding, and features the addition of a new slogan, #RunForRefugees in support of refugees.

The 6km ‘La Genevoise #LikeAGirl by Always’ race, previously intended only for women, has become the ‘5km by Always’, and will now also be open to men. This race is relocated to the lakefront, in front of the jet d’eau, on a fast course conducive to personal bests.

In another evolution, the start in Chêne-Bourg has been slightly moved and will now be just in front of the new Genève train station. This has direct access from many stations to the Lake Geneva area and encourages participants to use public transport.

The organizers will continue to focus on the carbon footprint generated by the event; and a carbon footprint assessment will be carried out. Numerous concrete actions have already been put in place for a number of years, such as the TPG transport ticket offered to each participant, the Geneva water distributed at the refreshment stands without any PET bottles, and the management of waste.

The Harmony Geneva Marathon for Unicef from Switzerland will receive the 2019 AIMS Social Award

The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), the member organization representing more than 460 of the world’s leading distance races is pleased to announce the Harmony Geneva Marathon for Unicef from Switzerland will receive the 2019 AIMS Social Award.

The award, which recognizes races working towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, will be presented during the seventh annual AIMS ‘Best Marathon Runner’ (BMR) Awards Gala to be held in the birthplace of the Marathon in Athens, Greece on 8 November 2019.

The two other shortlisted races were the Dhiraagu Maldives Road Race (Maldives) – 2nd & the Kingston City Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and 5K (Jamaica) – 3rd.

Since 2010 the Harmony Geneva Marathon has been in partnership with Unicef, supporting the program ‘WASH: Water, Sanitation, Hygiene’ and their Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring access to water sanitation for all. To date the race has raised more than 440,000 Swiss francs (400,000 EUR) which has financed the installation of 1,000 water pumps in different countries. From 2020, the Harmony Geneva Marathon for UNICEF will support UNICEF Malawi to provide solar water pumps – a reliable, sustainable, user friendly and green technology solution for rural communities.

In addition, the race manages a clothes collection point in the Marathon Village in association with the organization Bilifou (www.bilifou.ch) to benefit young people in Burkino Faso. This partnership has seen over 1,000kgs of clothes collected. Other activities with disabled people and refugees are managed by the organization in order to include everyone in the event.

Benjamin Chandelier, Harmony Geneva Marathon for Unicef Director comments: “The Harmony Geneva Marathon for Unicef has a long and proud history of working together with Unicef to benefit communities in different countries. We have ambitious goals the future and look forward to sharing our story with AIMS. We would like to thank AIMS, their partners and sponsors for presenting us with this award. This event couldn’t take place without our 1,000 volunteers, or the unwavering support of the Canton and City of Geneva as well as Chêne-Bourg who hosted the start of our races and all the villages we cross through on the beautiful course. Finally, I would also like to thank all our partners for their ongoing support and commitment”.

Paco Borao, AIMS President comments: “The Harmony Geneva Marathon for Unicef is a great example of a race helping communities in need on another continent. Their successes are clear and their plans are exciting. Everyone at AIMS wishes them every success in the future."

Refugee athletes Domnic Lokinyomo Lobalu and Paulo Amotun Lokoro finished 1-2 in the Harmony Geneva Marathon UNICEF 10km

These were the best performances ever by members of the Athlete Refugee Team.

Lobalu dominated the race, winning by more than a minute in 29:14 ahead of Lokoro, who represented the ART at the 2018 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, who clocked 30:32. Four of the first five finishers were members of the Athlete Refugee Team who train at the Tegla Loroupe Training Camp For Refugee Athletes in Ngong, Kenya.

"I am very happy to have won," said Lokinyomo, who covered the opening five kilometres in 14:20, by then already running alone. "I am going back to even more intense training when I return to Kenya."

Lokinyomo, 20, showed signs of solid form soon after the new year when he finished 8th at at Athletics Kenya Cross Country Series meeting in Kisii on 12 January. He was to race at a 5km in Monaco on 17 February and at the IAAF World Cross County Championships Aarhus 2019 on 30 March but was denied a visa on both occasions.

He's now targeting a spot on the Athlete Refugee Team for October's World Championships in Doha in the 10,000m where selection will be based on performances set this year.

Swiss runner Morgan Le Guen was third with refugee athletes Simon Ayong and Pur Biel rounding out the top five, clocking 30:53 and 31:37, respectively. Biel was a teammate of Lokoro's at the Rio Olympics.

Founded in 2015, the Tegla Loroupe Training Camp For Refugee Athletes is supported by the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the IAAF and other organisations.

The team’s victory was celebrated at the finish line by thousands of spectators, including Rossella Pagliuchi, UNHCR UK's representative and Sukru Cansizoglu, Head of UNHCR programs in Kakuma, Kenya. 

On Sunday, Gatkuoth Puok competed in the event’s half marathon, finishing 83rd in 1:21:37 despite suffering a severe stitch after the seventh kilometer.

Kenya´s Bernard Too set a new course record at The Harmony Geneva Marathon clocking 2:09:45

The Harmony Geneva Marathon for UNICEF, known as one of the most beautiful marathon routes in Europe, concluded in Geneva of Switzerland on Sunday, with a record over 18,300 runners taking to the start lines of various race formats.

Kenyan Bernard Too won the men's race and set a new track record of two hours nine minutes and 45 seconds, while his compatriot Josephine Chepkoech refreshed the women's record, finishing in two hours 29 minutes and 11 seconds.

Coming from 113 countries and regions throughout the world, the over 18,300 registered runners include 2,400 marathon runners, 6,000 half-marathon runners, 1,800 participants of 300 relay teams, five wheelchair athletes, 1,500 juniors, 3,400 10km runners, thousands of walking participants and some 1,000 volunteers.

The organizers introduced a parent and child race to the event for the first time this year, and the new race format is considered to be a perfect opportunity for parents to bring their little ones (from the age of three) to the world of running.

This year's event is the 15th edition of the Harmony Geneva Marathon, which also marks the 10th year of involvement by UNICEF, the event's official charity partner.