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Celestine Chepchirchir
Celestine Chepchirchir is a Kenyan marathon runner with a personal best of 2:20:10 and has also run 2:20:46.
She was tested both in-competition at the Valencia Marathon on December 3, 2023 and out-of-competition in Kapsabet, Kenya, where she tested positive for exogenous testosterone.
Chepchirchir failed to respond to several notifications by the AIU. She was offered to attend the splitting of her A sample to a B sample for a subsequent test, however, failed to respond. The B sample again tested positive for testosterone or y 5-a-androstane-3a, 17 diol (“5aAdiol”) and 5b-androstane-3a, 17 diol (“5bAdiol”), consistent with exogenous origin (the “Adverse Analytical Finding”).
Two years were added onto the 28-year-old’s current three-year ban.
In April 2022, she ran 2:20:10 in Seoul, Korea finishing fourth. Her half-marathon best is 1:08:35 from Paris 2018. In December 2023, she ran 2:20:46 in Valencia and again finished fourth.
Her Valencia fourth-place finish is disqualified, and she is required to return all awards, medals and money that she earned.
Shintsetseg Chuluunkhuu
Shintsetseg Chuluunkhuu, a 36-year-old Mongolian Marathon runner with a personal best of 2:41:57 has been suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
She was tested in-competition at the the Silk Road Marathon, in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan. She finished the race in a time of 2:48:07.
The Mongolian Athletic Federation and Chuluumkhuu were both contacted. She never responded to several requests even when offered a one-year reduction if admitting fault in advance. The federation failed to sufficiently explain the presence of the performance-enhancing drug (PED) meldonium or the Adverse Analytical Findings.
The PED is a metabolic modulator and is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned drugs. She is banned for four years.
