Half-marathon world record holder suspended from London Marathon
Abraham Kiptum will not be racing the London Marathon due to a provisional suspension from the AIU
Half-marathon world record holder Abraham Kiptum was scheduled to race the London Marathon on Sunday but is facing a provisional suspension for an athlete biological passport infraction.
The AIU confirms a Provisional Suspension against Kenyan long-distance runner Abraham Kiptum for an Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) violation under the @iaaforg Anti-Doping Rules.
Find out more ➡ https://t.co/opInfkVlnV#CleanSport pic.twitter.com/cYfRgWoFkW— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) April 26, 2019
According to the Athletics Integrity Unit a provisional suspension is enforced, “when an Athlete or other Person is suspended temporarily from participating in any competition or activity in Athletics prior to a final decision at a hearing conducted under the IAAF Anti-Doping Rules or the Integrity Code of Conduct.”
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RELATED: Abraham Kiptum to run London Marathon in 2019
Kiptum set a new world half-marathon record in Valencia, Spain in October with a time of 58:18. Little was known about Kiptum before his record-breaking run in Spain, but it came out afterwards that his 2:05 marathon personal best wasn’t deemed fast enough to be allowed into the Bank of America Chicago Marathon (which took place November 4, a few days after Kiptum’s victory in Valencia).
Instead, Kiptum ran the inaugural Abu Dhabi marathon on December 7, finishing second and bringing down his PB to 2:04:16. (However, there was speculation the course was short, since some of the splits in the latter half of the race seemed impossibly fast.)
Hugh Brasher, Event Director for the marathon said in a press release, “We have a zero-tolerance policy on doping. London is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors and we recently announced a groundbreaking extensive intelligence-driven testing programme. This shows the programme is working. Cheats will be caught and there is no place for them in marathon running.”
The Virgin Money London Marathon has announced that Kiptum will not compete on Sunday and has left London.