Kenya's Olympic and world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended after an out-of-competition sample tested positive for EPO.
Kenyan athletics has taken another heavy blow. Olympic and world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended after an out-of-competition sample returned a positive test for the banned blood booster EPO, the Athletics Integrity Unit announced on Friday.
The 33-year-old is one of the most decorated distance runners of her generation. Her marathon gold at the Tokyo Games, delayed to 2021 by Covid, made her a national hero. She later added a world marathon title, which has made this announcement all the more jarring for fans across Kenya and the continent.
EPO, or erythropoietin, boosts the production of red blood cells and so increases the blood's capacity to carry oxygen. That is a major advantage in endurance events like the marathon, and it is why anti-doping authorities have targeted it for years. The sample was collected outside of competition, as part of the kind of unannounced testing the AIU uses to catch athletes between races.
A provisional suspension is not a final ruling. The case is still under investigation, and Jepchirchir is barred from competing while the process plays out. Any final sanction, and the fate of her results and titles, will depend on how the case is resolved.
The news lands at an uncomfortable time for Kenya, a country that has long defined the global distance-running scene and has been fighting to protect that reputation amid a string of doping cases. Afroballers will keep following this story as it develops.
