Kiprop’s doping failure hits Kenya
eldoret — The residents of Eldoret and Iten, considered Kenya’s home of distance running, are hurting following official confirmation that former Olympic and world 1,500 metres champion Asbel Kiprop has tested positive for the banned bloodbooster EPO.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), an independent body handling doping matters on behalf of the sport’s governing IAAF, earlier on Friday confirmed media reports that the 28-year-old three-time world champion over 1,500m had failed a dope test.
The case is now with an International Association of Athletics Federations’ disciplinary tribunal and the 28-year-old Kiprop, one of Kenya’s most decorated athletes, could face a four-year ban.
There was a sombre mood on the Eldoret streets among the local people and in Iten, Kiprop’s home town, where the residents discussed the doping situation in subdued tones.
“This one has hit us where it hurts most,” Moses Kiptanui, a three-time world 3,000m steeplechase champion, told Reuters.
“Marathon runners failing dope tests was almost becoming normal. But when it came to the 1,500m, we were shocked. More so, Asbel (Kiprop), whom many youths looked to as a role model.
“We are mourning. From rural to urban areas, this has shaken everybody to the core,” he said.
Kiptanui, who runs an Eldoret department store, said the lack of tough anti-doping laws coupled with a laxity among Athletics Kenya (AK) officials and Kenyans’ predilection for manipulating rules will bring the country’s top sport to its knees.
“Officials with vested interests, who are attracted by perks, and not the love of the game, are ruining the sport. Even with anti-doping laws in place, we don’t have policing which specialises in anti-doping matters,” said Kiptanui, who blew the whistle on doping problems in Kenya in 2003.—