Following on from recent record breaking performances in the marathon by Kenyan runners, it was announced at the start of this week that Titus Ekiru from Kenya was banned for a decade after twice failing a drugs test.
He was up to now one of the top marathon runners from Kenya with a marathon personal best of 2:02:57 which had placed him on joint 6th of the all time marathon record list.
The two positive tests in 2021 came at the Milan Marathon where he tested positive for triamcinolone acetonide and at the Abu Dhabi Marathon where he tested positive for a synthetic opioid. He was also found guilty of tampering with two other samples.
His ban which runs from June 28, 2022 until June 27, 2032 will effectively end the competitive running career of the 32-year old.
It also seems he colluded with a 'high-ranking doctor' at a Kenyan hospital who administered some of the banned substances. It raises the obvious question of how rife is this in Kenya and some of the other African countries? Why was he only caught when he was tested in Milan and Abu Dhabi? Is there any drug testing going on within Kenya?
If there is no effective ongoing tests then athletes can train away on performance enhancing drugs within the country and wait for the substances to clear their system before traveling to competitions where they will be tested.
The full story is on the Athletics Weekly website.
A list of the wins for Titus Ekiru can be seen on Wikipedia.
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