2021 Boston winner Kipyokei suspended SIX years, title vacated

The AIU report is 9 pages but definitely worth a read. Damning.

I did not read every bit but the summary is damning:

"The Athlete has committed multiple Anti-Doping Rule Violations (i.e., Presence of a Prohibited Substance and Tampering) and the nature of the Athlete’s violations (in particular, the Tampering violation) are particularly egregious.
The AIU therefore considers that Aggravating Circumstances are clearly present in this case and concludes that the otherwise applicable period of Ineligibility of four (4) years shall be increased by an additional period of Ineligibility of two (2) years, based on the combination of the seriousness of the Athlete’s violations and the nature of the Aggravating Circumstances present."

Looks like she lied multiple times with different stories each time. These people are not "innocent naive victims", they are cheaters and grifters clawing their way to the top. Sadly, Edna gets another title in a long and successful career, but man it is hard to be a fan of any Kenyans anymore.....

Kenya will have no runners left by 2023 at this rate. The fact that people will continue to deny that there is a systemic issue in Kenya is crazy. Also, there must be some new test out this year because I can't ever remember even close to this many busts before

Certainly they’re as bad as Russia now

+1

Doping and tampering, the six years are well deserved.

Will the doper apologists claim for pages and pages that she wasn't banned for intentional doping?

And what will El K's excuse be this time...

I would really love to see someone (maybe this website?) do a deep dive into all of these bans. Specifically, who are the coaches/agents, who are the training groups, etc.

Looks like Gianni Demadonna is the agent here.

Gault should take this on. Letsrun should honestly create some kind of central repository of everyone that is currently banned, what they are banned for, their coaches/agents. I have lost track of who is who with how many runners have been popped this year from Kenya.

Just a quick glance at twitter shows that Demadonna has had numerous athletes test positive over the last few years.

How do race directors feel about this? I know races like Boston are more geared towards the masses now, but it is a terrible look when your past champions are being busted and stripped of their medals. At some point, will race directors stop inviting athletes associated with certain agents?

There's no point in having medal ceremonies after races anymore.

We are at the point where a Boston marathon winner being banned and her win negated is just the norm. We expect it.

I love this idea. Great way for the letsrun team to play an active role in cleaning up the sport. We can call it the Hall of Shame.

How about a full throated investigation piece about the Italian connection? It is well known in cycling circles that Italian doctors, coaches, and agents were heavily engaged in doping activities. Did they turn their attentions to running and using Western guilt about race to insulate their actions in East Africa? Perhaps look at the Dutch too?

Why is Kenyan athletes being allowed to compete internationally still a thing?

But Kipchoge, the guy who easily beats all of the doped Kenyans even though he is almost 40 years old, is totally clean! It's gotta be true, right?

Italy historically has had a comparatively high number of doping bans across all sports, I think the most in all of Europe. And yes it was Italian doctors Conconi an Ferrari that help introduce EPO into cycling.

Here you go:

8 top Kenyans this year alone (which isn't over yet...), from majors winners to 0:59 and 2:05 runners, all caught by the AIU, none by ADAK:
1) Boston + Chicago marathon winner Cherono, PR 2:03:04 (trimetazidine 2022) - AIU
2) Boston marathon winner Kipyokei, PR 2:22:06 (triamcinolone acetonide +tampering 2022) - AIU
3) 2x Rotterdam + Abu Dhabi winner Kipserem, PR 2:04:04 (EPO 2022) - AIU
4) Beijing winner Kisorio PRs 58:46/2:04:53 (whereabouts 2022 + norandrosterone 2012) - AIU
5) Renju, PRs 26:57/58:35 (methasterone 2022) - AIU
6) Sub-2 pacer Kacheran, PR 2:05:19 (testosterone 2022) - AIU
7) Sub-2 pacer Korio, PR 58:51 (whereabouts 2022) - AIU
8) Gachaga, PRs 59:22/2:05:09 (whereabouts 2022) - AIU

That's about a third of those banned this year by the AIU. As for ADAK, they have banned quite a few less elite runners, whose bans were kept secret until recently:

standardmedia.co.ke

Sad reality of Kenya's runners banned for doping but lie they are injured

@StandardKenya

The main players each have a fair share of blame for the sordid business of doping that has sullied the image of Kenya. The Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya has sanctioned another 31 athletes.

Open link

Titan!

Boston and other major races should stop inviting any Kenyan athletes. Keep them out if the elite fields even if they enter as a normal runner. Make sure they are not eligible for prize money.

Right. And we don't even mention the banned Paris marathon winner Rionoripo, because that's not at the top. Who cares about Paris?

bbc.com

Kipyokei loses Boston title after six-year doping ban

Two more Kenyans, Diana Kipyokei and Purity Rionoripo, are banned by the Athletics Integrity Unit after failing doping tests.

Open link

Or Kenyan's double national champ Odhiambo, who got removed during the Tokyo Olympics.

reuters.com

AIU suspends three Kenyan athletes for doping

Reuters

Three Kenyan athletes have been banned for two to three years for using prohibited substances, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Monday.

Open link