Ezekiel Kipkorir, a Kenyan athlete, was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for using prohibited performance-enhancing chemicals.
According to the Athletic Integrity Unit (AIU), the 29-year-old marathoner was banned for three years for possessing and using illegal testosterone.
“The AIU has banned Ezekiel Kipkorir (Kenya) for 3 years from December 5, 2024, for presence/use of a prohibited substance (testosterone),” the statement read in part.
The AIU detailed their findings, explaining that their investigations into the doping infraction began earlier this year when Kipkorir provided a urine sample during a tournament in India, which is standard practice in sports medicine.
“On August 25, 2024, the Athlete provided a urine sample in in-competition at the NMDC Hyderabad Marathon in Hyderabad, India, which was given code 6553641 (the Sample),” the report read.
Three months later, a laboratory in India discovered that the sample contained illegal substances, sealing his doom.
“On November 29, 2024, the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory in New Delhi, India reported that the analysis of the sample had the presence of testosterone and at least one of its metabolites consistent with the exogenous origin,” the report further added.
WADA observed in its investigation that Ezekiel had not obtained any specific approval that would “warrant” the use of the banned medication under anti-doping guidelines.
“The Athlete did not have a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) that had been granted (or that would have been granted) for the Testosterone (or its Metabolites) consistent with exogenous origin found in the Sample,” WADA noted.
On December 12, WADA reported that Ezekiel wrote to them confessing to using the banned substance, accompanied by an “Acceptance of Consequences Form” that paved the road for his later sentence.
The AIU’s newest ban follows severe doping charges against many Kenyan athletes, all of whom have since been barred from competing.
More recently, the World Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) suspended experienced Kenyan runner Beatrice Jelangat Cherop on Tuesday, December 3, after she admitted to using a banned skin medicine.
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