Kenyan athletics head Kiplagat dies after a long illness

The suspended president of Athletics Kenya, Isaiah Kiplagat, has died after a long illness. He was 72.

Track and field’s world governing body, the IAAF, said that Kiplagat’s death on Wednesday was confirmed by Kenya’s athletics association, which he led for more than 20 years.

Kiplagat was a divisive figure who dominated the most successful sport in his country in a manner that is unlikely to be repeated. He was a longtime IAAF Council member during the presidency of Lamine Diack of Senegal which ended last year.

The IAAF ethics commission suspended Kiplagat and two other Athletics Kenya officials last November during an ongoing investigation of alleged embezzlement and extortion.

All three men were accused of diverting more than $700,000 of sponsorship money from Nike for personal gain, and asking athletes to pay to conceal positive doping tests. Kiplagat took charge of his national athletics body in 1992, a time when the sport was struggling in Kenya.

“Back then we neither had offices, money nor equipment to operate the association activities yet we had already gained recognition across the globe and quick action needed to be taken urgently,’’ he said in an interview.