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The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) alleges that Kenya’s Anti-Doping Agency (ADAK) is non-compliant with its code. WADA announced that Kenya will face consequences in October unless certain conditions are met. Meanwhile, the East African nation is competing in the World Championships in Tokyo with a contingent of 58 athletes. The country will be looking to improve on its typical medal haul of 10, which it won at both the 2023 Budapest and 2022 Eugene meets.
WADA released a statement the day before the Worlds began that ADAK had not addressed “several critical requirements,” highlighted in an audit in May 2024.
ADAK has 21 days from receiving formal notice to dispute WADA’s allegation of non-compliance.
WADA’s announcement echoes the vitriol from the global athletics community that doping is rampant in Kenya.
The statement reads that the consequences will be enforced by Oct. 2, 2025.
Interestingly, World Athletics can find Athletics Kenya (AK) non-compliant; however, it continues to support AK in its effort to fight doping.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has the ability to bar Athletics Kenya from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games and could have with the 2024 Paris Olympics, but chose not to. Athletics is the largest sport during the Olympic Games. Perhaps barring Kenya from the monolith would taint medal wins as having less value, citing the nation’s absence.
Dirty athletes
The Kenyan government had pledged to invest $5 million USD into anti-doping in 2024. The results were immediate, with a major upswing in the number of doping positives. Kenya pulled the funding, and the positives waned. Clearly, the experiment unearthed rampant doping.
Recently, Ruth Chepngetich, the world record holder in the marathon tested positive for a massive amount of masking agent and diuretic.
Kibiwott Kandie, a former World Half Marathon record holder, with a time of 57:32 set in 2020, was suspended. In March 2025, Kandie was provisionally suspended for violating anti-doping rules by evading or failing to provide a sample, according to news reports.
Most recently, Joyline Chepngeno has received a doping ban after her win of the 2025 Sierre-Zinal, where an in-competition test revealed the presence of the banned substance Triamcinolone Acetonide. Kenya’s Caroline Kimutai, who finished in second place, has been declared the winner.
How Kenya could be punished
If sanctioned, ADAK will lose all WADA privileges, including funding and participation in agency programs. Kenyan representatives will be barred from holding positions on Wada boards or committees.
ADAK will be banned from hosting regional or world championships and other international events.
The East African nation intends to bid to host either the 2029 or 2031 World Athletics Championships.
Sabastian Sawe, the fastest man in the world in 2025, said on Thursday that the issue has “become like a cancer for Kenyan athletes.”
He has offered to be tested 25 times by the Athletics Integrity Unit in advance of the Berlin Marathon.
Kenyan wins women’s 10,000m in Tokyo
As predicted by the global athletics community, Kenyan Beatrice Chebet won the gold medal in the 10,000 metre event. She clocked in a time of 30:37.61 in a tactical race.
Italy’s Nadia Battocletti finished second in 30:38.23; meanwhile, Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay took third in 30:39.65.
Unfortunately for Chebet, she is under the radar because her performances are some of the all-time fastest. Additionally, she is represented by Federico Rosa, who has had several top-level athletes over the years test positive for performance-enhancing drugs, including Chepngetich.
Chebet holds the road 5km, track 5000m and 10,000m world records.
Chebet has run 28:43.14 and 13:58.06 in 2024 and 2025 in Eugene, as well as 13:54 on the roads in Barcelona in 2024. She is the first woman to break the 29 and 14-minute barriers in the respective three events.
The 25-year-old is a three-time World Cross Country Champion, two-time Olympic gold medallist and a world champion on the track.
