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The Bahrain Athletics Association has been partially banned and has been given corrective measures to follow by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).

Plastic Bahrainis

Bahrain is known as the home of plastic nationals and has had a doping problem. Bahrain’s team in Paris included Kenya-born Winfred Yavi, who won gold in the women’s 3,000-metre steeplechase, and Nigeria-born sprinter Salwa Eid Naser, the silver medallist in the 400m. Eid Naser was previously banned for Whereabout Failures, which means missing three out-of-competition tests in 12 months. Missing the three tests is equal to a first-time doping offence and results in a ban of up to four years.

Naser missed the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games as she served the ban. Kemi Adekoya, a former world indoor champion in the 400m, received a four-year suspension in 2019 for testing positive for steroids. Marathon runner Marius Kimutai was banned for three years in April after failing a drug test for EPO, he has won the Rotterdam and Barcelona Marathons.

All athletics records are held by athletes not born or raised in Bahrain. The country typically poaches athletes from Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria Jamaica and Ethiopia, however, the Kingdome experiences no shame in naturalizing athletes from anywhere in the world.

Category A-listed nations by the AIU are targeted for increased drug tests due to suspected doping. As of 2024, Category A includes the national athletics federations of Belarus, Bahrain, Kenya, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, Russia, and Ukraine.

Kenya currently has approximately 91 athletes serving suspensions. The East African country which has dominated athletics for decades is in a serious crisis mode. Both Bahrain and Kenya have agreed to invest money and human power to eradicate the doping issue.

From World Athletics

A statement by World Athletics reads, “The World Athletics Council has approved a recommendation from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) Board concerning the measures and corrective actions to be imposed on the Bahrain Athletics Association (BAA) following historical breaches of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules (ADR).

In December 2023, the AIU Board issued a notice of charge against the BAA, following a thorough 18-month AIU investigation into the BAA’s compliance with ADR 15, which imposes anti-doping obligations on Member Federations of World Athletics which are separate to the obligations of the World Anti-Doping Code.

The impetus for the investigation was the serious anti-doping rule violations committed by two BRN athletes at the Tokyo Olympic Games for homologous blood transfusions and the discovery that the BAA had engaged a coach to work with the national team between 2019 and 2021 who was in fact banned from sport for anti-doping rule violations.”

The BAA was charged with:

  1. Conducting itself in relation to doping, negligently and/or recklessly and/or so as to prejudice the interests of World Athletics or bring the sport of athletics into disrepute (in breach of ADR 15.4.1).
  2. Failing to take reasonable measures when engaging athlete support personnel to ensure they are of good character and repute and that the risk of doping in relation to their engagement is minimised (in breach of ADR 15.4.6).

According to World Athletics and David Howman, chairman of the AIU, Bahrain has been very agreeable to improving its situation. The BAA is suspended from naturalizing athletes at this time.

However, on August 20, Australian cyclist Robert Stannard, who received a backdated suspension due to anomalies in his Athlete Biological Passport will now represent Bahrain internationally. Cycling does not fall under the athletics banner.

World Athletics restricted Bahrain to a maximum of 10 athletes at the Paris Olympics, which was not known outside of Bahrain at the time. And, the same rule applies to the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships.

This decision comes after an 18-month investigation by the AIU, which uncovered serious violations linked to doping practices within the BAA.

The investigation was triggered by the doping infractions involving two Eid Naser and Kimutai.

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