While World Athletics president Sebastian Coe had recently stated that he is pleased with the anti-doping effort made in Kenya, it appears Kenyans continue to earn doping bans.
The latest is Geoffrey Yegon.
The 36-year-old has run the marathon as fast as 2:12:39 and the half marathon in 59:44.
On December 1, 2024, Yegon provided a urine sample in-competition at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon. The accredited laboratory in Doha, Qatar, reported an adverse analytical finding in the sample based on the presence of triamcinolone acetonide.
Triamcinolone acetonide is a synthetic steroid.
Yegon admitted fault and was therefore given a ban of two years as opposed to the typical four-year ban.
Coe is campaigning
Coe, who is campaigning to become the president of the International Olympic Committee, said on Wednesday during a visit to Nairobi that he is satisfied with the progress the African country has made in recent years in the fight against doping. He praised the local government’s investment.
Accompanied by Jackson Tuwei, president of Athletics Kenya and vice president of World Athletics, the two visited the Kenyan capital with the cabinet secretary for sports, Salim Mvurya, among others.
The Kenyan government committed to fighting doping after narrowly avoiding expulsion from World Athletics. The government announced in April 2023 that it would invest $25 million (€23.1m) over five years to combat this scourge. Kenya then reneged on the deal.
While Kenya invested, the number of doping cases skyrocketed. Once the investment was culled, the positive tests ebbed.
When Coe campaigned to become the president of World Athletics, he announced that Russia would not be banned for systematic doping. Once he became president, he did just that. Currently, he is campaigning, and he is likely playing it safe to avoid controversy while shaking hands and kissing babies, as it were.
