Another pair of Kenyan runners suspended for doping
Keneth Kiprop Renju has won his last four road races and is currently ranked fourth by World Athletics in road running
Photo by:
RunCzech
In the wake of the suspension of 2021 Boston Marathon champion Diana Kipyokei and 2022 Sierre-Zinal champion Mark Kangogo, two more Kenyan athletes have been suspended, according to an Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) report on Tuesday morning. Keneth Kiprop Renju has been provisionally suspended for the use of the prohibited substance methasterone, along with his teammate, Ibrahim Mukunga Wachira, who has also been suspended for the use of norandrosterone.
The AIU has provisionally suspended Kenya’s Ibrahim Mukunga Wachira for the Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Norandrosterone) and his team-mate Keneth Kiprop Renju for the Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Methasterone).
Details here: https://t.co/5W4EeNECxp pic.twitter.com/tg4itmtv1X
— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) October 18, 2022
In April, Renju won the 2022 Kenyan 10,000m national championship, as well as this year’s Prague Half-Marathon and Lisbon Half-Marathon. Renju has won his last four road races and is currently ranked fourth by World Athletics in road running.
The AIU said the prohibited substance methasterone was present in a sample provided by the 26-year-old distance runner.
Methasterone is an androgenic steroid that helps you to gain more muscle without having to increase your daily calorie intake. The drug has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of prohibited substances since 2009.
Wachira won the Helsinki Half-Marathon earlier this year and Estonia’s Tartu Half-Marathon on several occasions.
The doping threat in Kenya is becoming costly to the nation that prides itself on distance running. A total of 14 Kenyan athletes have been suspended by the AIU since July. The suspension of Renju and Wachira brings the count to 51 Kenyan athletes who are currently serving suspensions. To put this number in perspective, 16 U.S. athletes are currently serving suspensions and one Canadian athlete, David Freake.
Kenya was placed in the top category of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s compliance watch list in 2016.
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