Kenyan distance runner Albert Korir was initially suspended for doping with CERA in January. At the time, the notice was subject to appeal. Korir has now been banned for five years by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
The Adverse Analytical Findings confirm the presence of red blood cell booster CERA in samples collected on October 3, October 13, and October 21, 2025.
The 32-year-old received a one-year reduction for cooperating. The ban essentially ends his professional athletic career.
The 2:06:57 marathon runner who won the 2025 Ottawa Marathon (2:08:22) tested positive for CERA, a red blood cell booster and a prohibited substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency list.
Korir is a five-time top-three finisher at the New York Marathon.
The AIU added that the positive tests constituted “clear evidence of the athlete’s use of a prohibited substance on multiple occasions.”
Lazraq-Khlass suspended for whereabouts failures
French heptathlete Auriana Lazraq-Khlass has been provisionally suspended for whereabouts failures, says the AIU.
The World Anti-Doping Code states an athlete cannot miss three anti-doping tests and/or filing failures within 12 months.
Lazraq-Khlass, who won silver at the European Championships in Rome in 2024, faces a potential two-year.
“The AIU has provisionally suspended Auriana Lazraq Khlass (France) for Whereabouts Failures,” the AIU said in an X post.
