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On Wednesday, June 11, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) sanctioned three more athletes. Two are Kenyans, and one is from Mexico.
Benard Kibet Koech
The AIU provisionally suspended Kenya’s Benard Kibet Koech for using a banned substance discovered in an Athlete Biological Passport blood value anomaly.
Last year, Koech finished fifth in the 10,000 metre event during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. He finished in a time of 26:43.98, which is the 36th fastest time in history. He was also fifth in the 10,000m final at the 2023 Budapest World Athletics Championships. Koech took eighth at the 2023 World Road Running Championships half marathon. He also boasts a 58:45 half-marathon personal best from 2023.
He had yet to compete in 2025.
The AIU lists the notice, “Notice of charge issued.”
Daniel Kinyanjui
Fellow Kenyan Daniel Kinyanjui has been banned from the sport for a period of five years for doping with the red blood cell booster CERA.
CERA is a Prohibited Substance under the WADA 2024 Prohibited List under the category S2.1 Erythropoietins (EPO) and Agents Affecting Erythropoiesis. It is an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (“ESA”) used in “blood doping” to artificially stimulate erythropoiesis and increase the level of hemoglobin in blood, thereby increasing the body’s oxygen-carrying capacity. It is a Non-Specified Substance prohibited at all times.
Kinyanjui was first suspended for a four-year term; however, there were other circumstances surrounding a second performance-enhancing substance. The athlete did admit fault, so he had a one-year reduction; however, the second substance adds two years, therefore, he cannot compete for a total of five years. His period of ineligibility commences February 11, 2025.
His personal best over 10km took place during the Valencia 10K in January this year, where he finished in 27:06. He represented Kenya at the 2023 Bathurst World Athletics Championships, where he finished 10th in the U20 race. He is currently just 20 years old.
The markers in his Athlete Biological Passport alerted anti-doping authorities.
Citlali Cristian Moscote
Ms. Citlali Cristian Moscote provided a urine sample during the 2025 Valencia 10K race in January. The accredited World Anti-Doping Agency lab in Barcelona tested the sample. She tested positive for Octodrine.
Octodrine, also known as 1,5-dimethylhexylamine (DMHA), is a central nervous stimulant. It has been used as a pre-workout and fat-burning supplement, though it is unregulated at this time. Octodrine is a prohibited substance in sports under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules, particularly in competition.
However, according to test results Moscote decided to use it.
“On 13 February 2025, the Athlete wrote to the AIU and stated that she did not intentionally use Octodrine and believed that the Adverse Analytical Finding was caused by a Contaminated Product. The Athlete stated that she therefore wished to have supplements analyzed,” read the AIU release.
“On 26 February 2025, the Athlete provided the requested information regarding two (2) supplements, namely (i) Cafeina BHP Nutrition and (ii) Perpetuem Ultra Endurance Fuel 2.0 Hammer Nutrition, and confirmed that she would proceed with the analysis of the products
at the laboratory in the USA.”
Neither supplement tested positive for the substances, and she maintained her innocence. Meanwhile, it turns out that this is her second time being caught. She was sanctioned for two years in 2019 for the presence of Oxilofrine and Phenpromethamine.
Apparently, she likes her pharmaceuticals. In Mexico, performance-enhancing drugs are available at pharmacies similar to how they are available at walk-up, street-level “pharmacies” in Kenya.
Moscote ran the 2023 Seville Marathon in a time of 2:24:53, which is her personal best over the distance. In January 2025 she ran two new personal bests over the 10K and half marathon distance events, clocking 31:55 and 1:10:05, in Valencia and Seville, respectively.
