Thirty-one-year-old Kenyan runner Cornelius Kibet Kiplagat has been suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for five years for doping.
Kiplagat has a 2:04:54 marathon personal best that he ran in the March 2025 Barcelona Marathon.
Kiplagat provided an out-of-competition urine sample on July 29, 2025, in Kaptaget, Kenya.
The World Anti-Doping Lab in Paris tested the sample, and it came up positive for two performance-enhancing substances that do the same thing. They were Erythropoietin (“EPO”) and methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta (“CERA”). Both produce higher red blood cell volume.
Kiplagat claims that he believed that EPO and CERA reduce lactic acid (or lactate), which is untrue. Also, he claims that he did know they were banned substances.
From the AIU press release
From the AIU press release, the following statements were provided by Kiplagat:
On 19 September 2025, the Athlete attended an interview with AIU representatives (the “Interview”), during which he admitted to the use of CERA and EPO, stating, inter alia, that:
10.1. Having overheard some other (unnamed) runners saying that EPO and CERA would reduce lactic acid in the muscles, he decided that he wanted to try these substances, without knowing they were prohibited.
10.2. On 27 July 2025, whilst in Kenya, the Athlete approached a bus conductor and gave him 5000 Kenyan shillings to travel to Eldoret town and to purchase EPO and CERA from any pharmacy/chemist.
10.3. The bus conductor dropped off the EPO and CERA he purchased for the Athlete at a roadside vendor where the Athlete collected them. He did not know the bus conductor or the pharmacy that he visited to buy EPO and CERA. The Athlete was not given any receipt of purchase.
10.4. On the same day that the Athlete received the substances, he injected himself in the hip/thigh muscle, using syringes that came with the packaging, but did not read the labels.
10.5. It was his first-ever “supplement” injection.
10.6. The Athlete was not injured at the time and wanted to improve his performance.
Kiplagat was given a five-year suspension because he admitted guilt; therefore, his sentence was reduced by one year. A standard suspension is four years for one PED, but the AIU can add length to the term for testing positive for multiple PEDs.
