No sign of institutionalised Kenyan doping: Wada
NAIROBI: Kenyan athletes who engage in doping do it in an uncoordinated, unsophisticated and opportunistic way, with no sign of an institutionalised system, according to a World AntiDoping Agency report released yesterday.
The Wada report also said that between 2004 and August 1, 138 Kenyan athletes had tested positive for prohibited substances, 113 of them during competitions.
‘‘The doping practices of Kenyan athletes are unsophisticated, opportunistic, and uncoordinated and there is no evidence of an institutionalised system,’’ the report said.
‘‘Doping in Kenya is drastically different from other doping structures discovered elsewhere in the world.’’
Wada suspended Russia’s athletic federation in 2015 after finding systematic, statesponsored doping in the sport. Russian authorities have denied this, though have pledged to cooperate with global sports bodies to curb the use of performanceenhancing drugs.
Kenya’s traditional excellence in middle and longdistance running has been marred by doping cases involving its elite athletes. In 2017, officials estimated the number of positive cases at between 49 and 52 within the previous four years.
Wada threatened the East African nation with sanctions in 2016 that could have meant exclusion from the Rio Olympic Games.
Kenya subsequently enacted legislation that outlawed doping in sports with a penalty of up to 3 million Kenyan shillings ($NZ45,000) and three years in jail for anyone convicted.
In August, a Wadaaccredited laboratory was launched in Nairobi in a big step against doping in the country.
Wada’s report found that the most abused substances were Nandrolone and EPO and that medical personnel at times helped in administering them, either intentionally or unwittingly.
‘‘Some local medical practitioners and quasimedical personnel are unaware and/or wilfully blind to their role in facilitating the access of athletes and their entourage to prohibited substances,’’ the report said.
In August, Kipyegon Bett, world 800m bronze medallist, tested positive for EPO. He is awaiting a second test.
If his positive test is confirmed, Bett will join a growing list of Kenyan athletes to have flouted antidoping rules.
Milan Marathon winner Lucy Kabuu tested positive for morphine earlier in August. Samuel Kalalei, winner of the Athens Marathon last November, also tested positive for EPO on June 4.
Kenyanborn Bahraini runner Ruth Jebet, the 2016 Rio Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion, and former Olympic and threetimes world 1500m champion, Asbel Kiprop, were suspended after their samples tested positive for EPO on February 4 and 3 respectively. Kiprop denied wrongdoing. — Reuters