Kipsang receives ban
2012 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist and world record holder Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich has been banned for four years following anti-doping rule violations that included using a fake photo of a traffic accident to justify one of four missed whereabouts appointments, the Athletics Integrity Unit) said on Friday.
The Kenyan runner had four whereabouts failures in the period between April 2018 and May 2019, the AIU stated, in addition to providing false evidence in the form of a fake photograph of an overturned truck, in an attempt to explain why he missed a test. Three whereabouts failures in a 12-month period usually results in an automatic ban from competition.
38 year old Kipsang said he missed a test on May 17, 2019 due to a traffic accident involving an overturned lorry and provided a photo of the crash. However, the image was found to be from an accident on Aug. 19, 2019.
The ban is effective as of January 10, 2020, when Kipsang was provisionally suspended pending the investigation. After the suspension was announced, his results from April 12 2019 to January 10 2020 were also disqualified.
Kipsang’s management company, Volare Sports, “no prohibited substance was ever found” and added “We emphasize that there is no case of use of doping,” the company said in a statement.
“The decision is not final and conclusive yet. Wilson has the opportunity to appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”
Athletics Kenya President Jackson Tuwei, reflecting on the announcement, stated that it was very sad news.
“Athletes should learn from such consequences because these are the things that we keep talking about every day. And unfortunately we still continue getting these kinds of results,” he told Reuters.
“It affects everybody. It demoralises even ourselves. Why do they continue getting into that, particularly top athletes, elite athletes, who should be role models? … They are giving a bad example.”
Kipsang joins a list of Kenyan compatriots who have been sanctioned in recent years, including 2008 Olympic 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop, former Boston and Chicago Marathon winner Rita Jeptoo and 2016 Olympic marathon champion Jemimah Sumgong. Fifty-five Kenyan athletes are currently serving suspensions, per the AIU database.
Kipsang set a world record in 2013 at the Berlin Marathon, finishing in 2:03:23. He beat his personal best in 2016, also in Berlin, finishing second place in 2:03:13. Kipsang also finished third at the 2018 Berlin Marathon, when Eliud Kipchoge set the current official world record at 2:01:39, and he is a two-time winner of the London Marathon (2012 and 2014).
