Running News Daily

Ugandan middle-distance runner Prisca Chesang given two-year ban for masking agent

On Friday, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) issued a two-year ban for two-time U20 world championship medalist Prisca Chesang of Uganda. Chesang tested positive for the banned diuretic and masking agent furosemide.

Chesang’s positive test came out-of-competition, at a training camp in Kapchorwa, Uganda, on Sept. 14. She was in Kapchorwa preparing for the women’s mile at the 2023 World Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia, where she placed 18th overall, on Oct. 1. 

The 20-year-old is a two-time world U20 medalist in the women’s 5,000m, winning bronze at both the 2021 and 2022 U20 championships. According to the AIU, they did not discover any evidence that Chesang’s actions were intentional and therefore she was only given a two-year ban instead of four years. Chesang admitted to the Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV); her result from the 2023 World Road Running Championships will be disqualified, and she will serve a two-year ban, until Dec. 6, 2025.

Furosemide is a diuretic, meaning it increases urine production, eliminating excess water and salt from the body. (It is also used for losing weight.) Furosemide also serves as a masking agent for other performance-enhancing substances that leave the body through urination, and therefore show up in a urine test. The drug has been prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for decades.

Chesang is one of Uganda’s top up-and-coming distance runners and represented the East African nation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the women’s 5,000m (but failed to advance from the heats). Her top senior championship finish was a seventh-place result at the 2023 World XC Championships in Bathurst, Australia, helping Uganda’s women’s team win bronze.

Chesang is only the second female Ugandan runner to be suspended by the AIU. The country’s first came in Nov. 2023, when Janat Chemusto was given a four-year ban for the use of a prohibited substance.

(01/26/2024) Views: 241 ⚡AMP
by Marley Dickinson

Ugandan runner Prisca Chesang provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit

Ugandan runner faces provisional suspension by AIU for for the presence/use of a prohibited substance (Furosemide).

World U20 5000m bronze medalist Prisca Chesang has found herself in hot water with the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).

The 20-year-old Ugandan has been provisionally suspended by AIU for the Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Furosemide), a clear violation of the World Anti-Doping rules.

Chesang, who made headlines as the fourth female Ugandan athlete to secure a medal at the junior championship, finds herself facing charges under Article 2.1 and Article 2.2 of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Chesang's remarkable journey began at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, and continued in Cali, Colombia last year, where she clinched the bronze medal.

She joined the ranks of Peruth Chemutai (2018), Annet Negesa (2010), and Dorcus Inzikuru (2000) as one of the few female Ugandan runners to achieve such a feat at the junior level.

"The AIU has provisionally suspended Prisca Chesang (Uganda) for the Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Furosemide)," the AIU confirmed.

Chesang's suspension echoes a somber note in Ugandan running history, following the suspension and three-year ban of Janat Chemusto in November.

Prisca Chesang had been making remarkable strides in the senior division as well, finishing 7th overall at the World Cross Country Championships held in Bathurst, Australia, earlier this year.

However, it was her astonishing performance in the 10km race and her ranking at the World Cross Country Championships in 2023 that truly had the athletics world taking notice.

On New Year's Eve in 2022, Chesang emerged as the champion of the Madrid 10km with an incredible time of 30:19.

This achievement unofficially crowned her as the fastest junior athlete ever over the 10km distance.

Her exceptional performance ranked her 6th on the Senior World List for 2022 and placed her among the top 20 on the World All-Time list for the same distance. 

(12/08/2023) Views: 289 ⚡AMP
by Festus Chuma

Kenyans Victor Kipruto and Veronica Loleo reign supreme in blustery Run Your City Cape Town 10K

Kenyan duo Victor Kipruto and Veronica Loleo reigned supreme in Sunday's Run Your City Cape Town 10K, which was run in windy and blustery conditions in the Mother City,

Kipruto won the men's event in 28:28 after an exciting duel in the final stages of the race. The next eight runners all finished in under 29 minutes.

The next four places went to South Africans led by Precious Mashele (28:36), Thabang Mosiako (28:38) and Elroy Gelant (28:51).

“My plan was to win the race. I came here to win,” said Kipruto, who ran the second half of the race in 13:45.

“We were a big bunch in the beginning because of the wind, and it is easier to run in a bunch when the wind blows, but once we had some shelter, I knew it was time to go.”

Second-placed Mashele led a bunch of about 20 runners that included SA 5 000m record holder Gelant, at the halfway mark. He said the cool conditions proved restrictive in the final stages.

“I felt a bit cold towards the end and that stopped me from being able to sprint in the final kilometre,” said Mashele, who broke the SA 10km record in Gqeberha, taking three seconds off the previous record.

The women's race was dominated by international runners who claimed the first five places.

Loleo, who came into the race with a 30:53 personal won in 31:38, She was followed by Ugandan Docus Ajok (32:09), Lesotho's Neheng Khatala (32:13), Uganda's Prisca Chesang (32:45) and Ethiopia's Genet Abdurkadir Habela (33:08).

The first South African across the line was sixth-placed Glenrose Xaba in 33:35.

After the race, Loleo said the race had gone according to plan.

“I stuck to the pacesetter as he was doing exactly what we asked him to do,” said Loleo. “I’m really happy with my run in the wind.”

Michael Meyer, managing director of Stillwater Sports and founder of the Run Your City Series said: “Congratulations to Victor Kipruto and Veronica Loleo for their stellar performances.

“Not even the Cape Doctor could get in the way of these world-class athletes.

"Today the event was back to its full-scale, post the Covid-19 pandemic, and it felt amazing. From Monday onwards it’s full steam ahead as we shift our focus to Durban.”

(05/15/2023) Views: 468 ⚡AMP
by Herman Gibbs

WXC Bathurst 23 senior women's preview: Gidey goes for gold against tough opposition

Had the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 23 gone ahead in 2021 as originally planned, there’s a strong chance that Letesenbet Gidey would already be a world champion at the discipline.

The Ethiopian was in sensational form in 2020 and 2021, setting world records of 14:06.62 for 5000m and 29:01.03 for 10,000m. She had to settle for bronze at the Olympic Games at the longer event, but she prioritized global honors over records in 2022 and was rewarded with her first world title on the track, winning the 10,000m in Oregon in a nail-biting race.

The 24-year-old is now focused on winning her first individual senior world cross-country title. She won back-to-back U20 crowns in 2015 and 2017, joining an elite club of athletes to achieve the feat, alongside Faith Kipyegon and Genzebe Dibaba.

Gidey finished third in the senior women’s race in 2019 and earned gold in the team competition, but this time she heads to Bathurst as one of the big favorites.

If her performance at the Jan Meda Cross Country – Ethiopia’s trial event for the World Cross – is anything to go by, Gidey is certainly in form to challenge for gold in Bathurst. In that race back on 1 January, she bided her time until the last kilometer of the race and then soon opened up a gap of about 20 seconds on a strong domestic field.

It looked as though she was running within herself, too.

As much as individual glory will be Gidey’s biggest goal on Saturday, she will also want to earn gold in the team standings, and Ethiopia will once again be in with a great shout of doing exactly that.

Gete Alemayehu, who has a 1:06:37 half marathon PB, was second in the trial race, just ahead of 30:06.01 10,000m performer Tsigie Gebreselama, bronze medalist in the U20 race in Aarhus in 2019. Fellow Ethiopian Fotyen Tesfaye just missed out on a top-10 placing in Aarhus, so will be keen to improve on that in Bathurst.

But Gidey and her Ethiopian compatriots won’t have an easy ride, as they’ll be up against someone who is undefeated in international cross-country races for more than a year.

Eritrea’s Rahel Daniel has dominated the World Athletics Cross Country Tour and currently tops the season standings thanks to her three victories last month. She won at the prestigious Campaccio meeting in San Giorgio su Legnano, then two days later triumphed in Elgoibar, winning by eight seconds. More recently she won in Hannut, racing in heavy snow, showing she can cope well in any conditions.

Daniel enjoyed a successful 2022 campaign on the track, setting national records for 5000m (14:36.66) and 10,000m (30:12.15), the latter when placing fifth at the World Championships in Oregon.

But the 21-year-old is clearly more at home on cross country, and despite this being her World Cross debut, Daniel will have high hopes for a podium finish.

Beatrice Chebet is just as formidable an opponent, though. The Kenyan took 5000m silver at the World Championships last year and won the U20 women’s title at the 2019 World Cross in Aarhus. She is also the African, Commonwealth and Diamond League 5000m champion, and is a former world U20 champion on the track.

She has raced just twice in cross-country events since the end of the track season, but won both of her races. She won by 13 seconds in Atapuerca in November and by 15 seconds at the Cinque Mulini in January.

In the absence of Chebet at the Kenyan trials, teenager Grace Loibach Nawowuna was a surprising winner of the senior women’s race, beating Olympic semifinalist Edinah Jebitok by four seconds. The Kenyan team also includes two-time world cross-country champion Emily Chebet and Agnes Ngetich.

Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba missed the peak of the 2022 track season through injury, but still managed to win three races on the Wanda Diamond League circuit, and then triumphed at the Venta de Banos Cross Country in December. In her latest appearance, though, she was a distant fifth in Elgoibar, some 47 seconds behind Daniel.

Stella Chesang, the 2018 Commonwealth 10,000m champion, was a dominant winner of the recent Ugandan Cross Country Championships and is keen to improve on her 21st-place finish from the 2019 World Cross. She is joined on the Ugandan team by world U20 5000m bronze medallist Prisca Chesang.

Olympic finalist Nozomi Tanaka, who holds national records for 1000m, 1500m and 3000m, leads the Japanese team. The 2018 world U20 3000m champion placed 39th at the last World Cross when she was still just 19 years of age, so she’ll be hoping for a higher position this time. Ririka Hironaka, who earned U20 team bronze in 2019, will also be flying the Japanese flag in Bathurst.

Ednah Kurgat and Weini Kelati feature on the US team, while Australia’s Rose Davies and Leanne Pompeani will aim to give the home crowd something to cheer for. Other contenders include Canada’s Regan Yee, Mexico’s Laura Galvan, and Britain’s Abbie Donnelly.

(02/14/2023) Views: 879 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

Ugandans Joshua Cheptegei and Prisca Chesang reign in Madrid

Two-time world 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei and Ugandan compatriot Prisca Chesang were victorious at the San Silvestre Vallecana, a World Athletics Elite Label road race, in ideal conditions in Madrid on Saturday (31).

The men's 10km race had been billed as a thrilling encounter between world 10,000m record-holder Cheptegei and Spain's world 1500m bronze medalist Mohamed Katir. The Ugandan star, who hadn’t competed since the World Championships in Oregon, took command of the pacing duties right from the start and his swift early pace could only be followed by Katir, his compatriot Jesús Ramos and Italy's Ilias Aouani.

The first kilometer, which includes an uphill section of about 350 meters, was covered by the lead quartet in 2:41. The speed then increased over the second kilometer, covered in 2:36 for a 5:17 2km split, with Cheptegei always at the helm. During the third kilometer the two Spaniards briefly took the lead to reach 3km in 8:00, a pace which proved too fast for Aouani.

Over the following kilometers, Katir and Cheptegei ran absolutely even, none of them ahead of the other and the tandem went through halfway in a brisk 13:16, still with Ramos for company. Ramos began to fade about 200 meters later and the race became a fascinating clash between Cheptegei and Katir.

The Ugandan, who holds the second ever quickest 10km performance of all time (26:38), tried to get rid of Katir after reaching 7km in 18:35, but the 24-year-old Spaniard remained in close attendance. The key move came with the clock reading 20:45, shortly before the 8km checkpoint, when Cheptegei finally managed to open up a gap of a few seconds over the Spaniard.

The Kapchorwa native progressively extended his lead over the ninth kilometer – the toughest of the race – and then cruised home in 27:09, the fifth quickest performance in Madrid, to finish 10 seconds ahead of Katir while Ramos managed to keep his chasing Spaniards at bay to finish third in 27:52.

“I knew Katir was going to be a tough rival since he has improved a lot over the last few seasons,” said Cheptegei. “Today's race was my first competition in more than five months so my only target was to regain sensations. Of course I also wanted to win so I’m leaving Madrid delighted.”

Chepetegi confirmed that he plans to defend his world cross-country title in Bathurst on 18 February and that he’ll likely make his marathon debut after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Following the last-minute withdrawal of pre-race favorite Tsehay Gemechu, the early stages of the women's race became a three-way battle between world U20 5000m bronze medalist Prisca Chesang, Burundi's Francine Niyonsaba and Kenya's world steeplechase record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech. That trio covered the opening kilometers at 2:56/km pace, reaching 3km in 8:44, then the Ugandan teenager broke away from her rivals. By midway (14:29) she was six seconds ahead of Chepkoech, herself another 11 seconds clear of Niyonsaba.

The leader maintained her rhythm over the following kilometers but her pursuers' pace decreased. With a quarter of the race to go, Chesang's advantage on Chepkoech had grown to 18 seconds.

At the tape, Chesang was timed at 30:19, the third quickest performance here, bettered only by Brigid Kosgei (29:54) and Hellen Obiri (29:59) in 2018. Further back, Niyonsaba overtook a fading Chepkpech on the last uphill section to take the runner-up place in 30:58 to Chepkoech's 31:06.

Leading results

Men

1 Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) 27:09

2 Mohamed Katir (ESP) 27:19

3 Jesús Ramos (ESP) 27:52

4 Sergio Paniagua (ESP) 28:00

5 Aaron Las Heras (ESP) 28:04

6 Carlos Mayo (ESP) 28:04

7 Ignacio Fontes (ESP) 28:06

8 Carlos Díaz (ESP) 28:08

9 Nassim Hassaous (ESP) 28:13

10 Juan Anronio Pérez (ESP) 28:18.

Women

1 Prisca Chesang (UGA) 30:19

2 Francine Niyonsaba (BDI) 30:58

3 Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN) 31:06

4 Mahelet Mulugeta (ETH) 31:57

5 Naima Ait Alibou (ESP) 32:36

6 Laura Priego (ESP) 32:49

7 Nina Chydenius (FIN) 32:51

8 Laura Luengo (ESP) 32:53

9 Laura Méndez (ESP) 33:06

10 Clara Viñarás (ESP) 33:54.

(01/03/2023) Views: 959 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

Chepkoech is set to compete at San Silvestre Vallecana 10k road race

World 3000m steeplechase record holder Beatrice Chepkoech will be lining up against a competitive field at the San Silvestre Vallecana, a New Year’s Eve 10 km road race in Madrid, Spain.

Chepkoech temporarily leaves the track to compete at the world's best 10K and victory will be another milestones in her many achievements. Besides her 2019 World Championships gold, she is also a nine-time Diamond League winner.

However, the iconic race has also attracted other elite athletes including Africa 10,000m champion Tsehay Gemechu from Ethiopia and Francine Niyonsaba, the 2016 and 2018 World 800m indoor champion.

Brigid Kosgei holds the women's course record with 29:54 from 2019. She set the milestone just a few months before achieving her unbelievable and still-standing world marathon record of 2:14:04.

Gemechu comes to the race to extend the Ethiopian winning streak after Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Degitu Azimeraw won the previous two editions. She placed fourth in the 5,000m at the 2019 World Championships and finished sixth at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships.

Niyonsaba, who has been enjoying road race and cross-country success, will also be looking to shine in Madrid. Most recently, Niyonsaba won the Banos International Sales Cross Country. She holds a very fast 5, 000m personal best at 14:25.34 from last year.

The women's elite field will also have Prisca Chesang, the 19-year-old Olympian from Uganda who won the U20 world bronze medal at 5,000m this year, and Mahlet Mulugeta, the Ethiopian.

(12/29/2022) Views: 653 ⚡AMP
by Abigael Wuafula