Exclusive: Kenya’s 10km World Record Holder Rhonex Kipruto Banned Until 2029 for Doping Violations - Denies All Charges
Kenya’s 10km world record holder, Rhonex Kipruto, banned until 2029 for doping violations. Kipruto denies all charges, claiming abnormalities in his Athlete Biological Passport are due to medical reasons. He plans to appeal the decision and is seeking further genetic testing.
Image Credits: Reuters
The Kenyan runner will be stripped of his record, which he set in Valencia in 2020 and the 10km bronze medal he won at the 2019 World Championship. He will be banned until May 2029, after being provisionally suspended on 11 May 2023 for violating anti-doping rules.
An ABP is an electronic record, which tracks an athlete’s biomarkers over their career. If these markers change dramatically, it alerts the officials that an athlete might be doping. Rhonex Kipruto has since came out and denied the allegations of doping.
Kipruto Speaks Out
“This ABP inquiry has been very challenging, causing pain and hurt. I am being asked why my body works the way it does and I am being told that it should not work the way it is. To see my career to be almost completely taken away from me is extremely painful. Many hard days are behind me and probably many more are ahead of me,” he told SportsBoom.com.
Image Credits: Le Bien Republic
Tribunal Findings
The BBC reported, “The Tribunal rejected Kipruto’s defence, concluding the cause for the abnormalities in the ABP is more likely to be due to blood manipulation such as through the use recombinant human erythropoietin (rEpo),” said the Athletics Integrity Unity (AIU), which enforced the ban.
I am not a doper and I am doing all that I possibly can to find the truth behind fluctuations of my haemoglobin and red blood cells values.
Rhonex Kipruto
Legal and Medical Efforts
Rhonex responded, “I have never used a prohibited substances or method. My lawyer and team have contacted many scientists, various genetic testing was and is being done. Work continues to establish a medical diagnosis or medical reasons for the way my body reacts to the alcohol abuse problem I am dealing with and other various training loads.”
“I am being asked today, why I had a certain haemoglobin value six years ago. It is extremely hard to understand how all of this is possible to answer and I am doing my best to find the answer.”
Appeal and Future Steps
Kipruto can appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“This process so far has been very painful and hard on me. I was advised by my team to wait for the remaining genetic testing to come in and then to have to have my lawyer and medical team advise me on how to proceed with the appeal. Costs are also a big challenge for availability of experts who have knowledge of ABP.”
Nathan has over a decade of knowledge and experience, both as a former professional sportsperson and journalist. Nathan, a former radio sports presenter and producer is an award-winning community radio sports producer/presenter.