Naoribi — Marathon runner Philemon Kacheran was banned for three years on Monday for testing positive for excess testosterone, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced, making him the twenty-first Kenyan athlete sanctioned this year.
Kacheran, 30, who finished fifth in the 2021 Berlin marathon, was first suspended in July and withdrawn from the Kenyan national marathon team for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Kacheram’s suspension occurred only six days after fellow Kenyan Lawrence Cherono, the 2019 Chicago and Boston marathon champion, was barred from running at the World athletics championships in Oregon, again for a doping violation.
In April, an out-of-competition urine test conducted in his hometown of Kapenguria, Western Kenya, revealed that Kacheran had violated the AIU’s anti-doping regulations.
The AIU stated, “On September 12, 2022, the athlete returned a signed acknowledgement of anti-doping rule infractions… and accepted the indicated time of ineligibility.”
His admission lowered the regular four-year ban by one year.
The suspension of Kacheram is the latest development in a controversy that threatens Kenya’s sports reputation.
In 2016, the country was placed in the highest compliance watch list category by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Twenty Kenyan athletes, predominantly marathon runners, have been sanctioned so far this year.
AFP