The 26-year-old Kenyan half-marathoner, Hillary Kipchirchir Chepkwony, is the latest of a long list of Kenyan runners to receive a provisional suspension from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU). The notice of charge came on December 8th after a positive test of a prohibited substance identified through his biological passport.
A biological passport is an anti-doping tool where repeated blood and urine tests are regularly tracked and examined for banned substances outside of the expected normal range.
Chepkwony holds a personal best of 58:53 in the half-marathon, set in Valencia in 2023. He also set his 10-kilometer road run best of 27:34 in Valencia a year later. His most recent result on his World Athletics page is a time of 1:01:58 set at the Hamburg half-marathon this past June.
Kenya Leads the Way in Doping Offences
More than 140 Kenyan athletes have been suspended by the AIU since 2017, more than any other country, as reported by France24.
Kenya has been facing doping problems for decades, but the issue has received increased attention over the last year due to the suspension of several high-profile athletes, such as Ruth Chepngetich, the female marathon record holder. Her recent three-year ban won’t expire until April 2028.
As per Jonathan Gault of Let’s Run, Chepkwony is the third runner in the Global Sports Camp elite high-altitude hub in Kaptagat to test positive for a banned substance.
Two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge called the levels of doping in his home country a “big embarrassment” in an interview with Olympics.com at an AIU event in Kenya.
Kenya Risks WADA Non-Compliance
In September, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the international agency responsible for developing anti-doping policies for athletics and many other sports, alleged that Kenya’s Anti-Doping Agency (ADAK) was non-compliant with its anti-doping code and that the agency hadn’t implemented critical requirements in its anti-doping program identified during a May 2024 audit.
ADAK is the agency responsible for testing and enforcing doping control in Kenya. They were given 21 days (until October 2) to dispute WADA’s allegations of non-compliance. On the deadline, WADA released another press release explaining that significant progress had been made by ADAK, including the development of a 4-month corrective plan outlining how they will correct the missing requirements.
On October 31, WADA added Kenya to its compliance watchlist after an endorsement from its executive committee and a recommendation from its independent Compliance Review Committee.
ADAK now has four months (until March 2, 2026) to execute its corrective plan, or it will lose all WADA privileges, including funding and participation in agency programs. Kenyan representatives will also be barred from positions on WADA boards or committees.
Kenya would also risk becoming ineligible to host WADA-sanctioned events, meaning athletes won’t be able to use results of competitions for world rankings. The only National Anti-Doping Organizations currently non-compliant are Russia and Sri Lanka. The International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB) is also listed as a non-compliant signatory.
Kenya was previous added to the list of non-compliant countries in 2016 after twice failing WADA’s requests for anti-doping mechanisms to be implemented following more than 40 athletes failing doping tests from 2011–2016. The ban was lifted shortly before the Rio Olympics.
Why Does Kenya Have a Doping Problem?
Kenya’s doping problem is likely caused by a combination of factors, including a highly competitive field of runners competing for a small number of national team spots, socioeconomic factors, and increased testing.
The rapid rise of positive tests in recent months in Kenya may make it seem like more athletes than ever are doping. But the reality is, if you don’t test athletes, you can’t get a positive test. Seeing so many athletes test positive in recent months can actually be a sign that the testing protocol is moving forward.
Just some of the high-profile names busted in recent years include:
- Ruth Chepngetich, the female marathon world record holder
- Wilson Kipsang, former marathon record holder
- Abraham Kiptum, former half-marathon world record holder
- Jemima Sumgong, 2016 Olympic Marathon Champion
- Asbel Kiprop, three-time World 1,500-meter Champion
Kenya currently has the 149th-ranked GDP per Capita in the World out of 197 countries. For a country with a long history of long-distance running culture, relatively large prize earnings in races abroad offer large paydays between appearance fees and prize money, many times the yearly value of most local salaries. For example, the Boston Marathon currently offers $150,000 for first-place finishers.
Kenya has the unique problem of being the most dominant country in long-distance events, along with Ethiopia. Eight Kenyan runners currently rank ahead of the top runner from the United States, and an additional 25 rank ahead of the next highest runner. Kenya shows similar dominance on the women’s side, with 10 women ranking ahead of the top American runner in the marathon.
These deep fields put pressure on athletes to find ways to compete internationally and stand out from a stacked field of runners, especially where top road running events can be relatively lucrative compared to track events.
As said by the head of the AIU, Brett Clothier, in a 2023 interview with the BBC, “The 100th-ranked Kenyan in the marathon can go around the world earning really good money as a professional runner … in many other countries the hundredth-ranked long jumper, for example, has to work in a supermarket.”
What Drugs are Kenyan Athletes Taking?
According to a 2022 report published by WADA, 138 Kenyan athletes tested positive for prohibited substances between 2004 and 2018. Of these, 91% were long-distance runners.
The most common prohibited substance detected in Kenyan athletes was the steroid norandrosterone (a metabolite of nandrolone). Norandrosterone is an anabolic steroid that promotes muscular power and strength. Anabolic steroids are a group of molecules that act similarly to testosterone inside the body.
Norandrosterone made up 35% of positive tests in Kenya.
The next most common class of banned substances was corticosteroids, making up 13% of positive tests. These drugs are anti-inflammatory medications.
Finally, the third most common banned substance was erythropoietin (EPO), making up 12% of positive tests. This drug tells the bone marrow to make more red blood cells.
