KENYAN STAR FAILS DOPE TEST
ASBEL KIPROP, the 2008 Olympic and three-time world champion over 1500m, has tested positive for a banned substance. Yesterday the Kenyan’s agent, Federico Rosa, would confirm only that he had ‘heard the same rumour’ and was ‘still trying to get confirmation’. But senior athletics sources have confirmed to Sportsmail that the man widely regarded as the finest 1500m runner of the last decade has failed an out-of-competition test. It is understood Kiprop is arguing there has been an error with a sample taken in late 2017. Last night he said: ‘I have read the reports linking me to doping. As an athlete, I have been at the forefront of the fight against doping in Kenya, a fight I strongly believe in and support. ‘I would not want to ruin all I have worked for since my first international race in 2007. I hope I can prove that I am a clean athlete in every way possible.’ This is a massive blow to athletics and leaves Kenyan distance-running under a cloud. Last year Kiprop’s compatriot Jemima Sumgong, the Olympic women’s marathon champion in Rio in 2016, tested positive for the blood-doping drug EPO, also in an out-of-competition test, and was banned for four years. But it is a measure of the IAAF’s keenness to catch the biggest names since the formation of the Athletics Integrity Unit under Lord Coe’s presidency. Kiprop has competed in the opening Diamond League meeting of the season in Doha since 2010 but he is not listed among the athletes to race there tomorrow. The 28-year-old shot to prominence in 2008 when, aged 19, he finished second in the Olympic 1500m final in Beijing. He was only narrowly beaten by Rashid Ramzi but his silver medal was upgraded to gold when the Bahraini runner tested positive for CERA — a modern form of EPO. Kiprop has dominated his event at world championships, winning in 2011, 2013 and 2015, and running the third fastest 1500m in history in 2015. A report in Kenya yesterday said a ‘high-profile runner’ who has ‘dominated world championships over the years’ was embroiled in a doping scandal. And they claimed that, while there was no confirmation from the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya — or Athletics Kenya — their sources had said the substance was the same bloodboosting drug used by Sumgong. Once considered the home of distance-running, Kenya has had a rash of positive tests. In 2016 the country reported 40 cases over the previous four years, with marathon star Rita Jeptoo also being caught using EPO. Like Kiprop, she too was managed by Rosa, who faced a doping inquiry by the Kenyan authorities in 2016. But that case was dropped before it went to court and yesterday Rosa said he feared Kiprop had indeed tested positive. ‘I recognise it’s a big story but if it’s true it will be very sad,’ he said.