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It is not a very happy Kwanzaa for two African athletes who have been provisionally suspended for apparently doping. Kwanzaa started on December 26 and runs through to January 1, 2020.
The two new provisional suspensions were handed out by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
On December 19, Lebogang Shange from South Africa was notified of the presence of a prohibited substance. Two days prior, Kenyan Peter Kwemoi was given the same provisional ban.
Twenty-six-year-old Kwemoi owns personal bests of 27:44 in the 10K a half-marathon at 59:58 and has run the marathon in 2:10:09. The presence of EPO, the blood booster was found in his test results.
Twenty-nine-year-old Shange is a racewalker with bests of 1:19:18 in the 20K and a 10,000m best of 41:02.92.
He has won bronze, silver and gold at the 2016, 2015 and 2014 African Athletics Championships, respectively. He is a four-time national champion in the 20K road race. In 2017, he finished fourth in the London World Athletics Championships with a 1:19:18 performance – the national record.
Shange apparently tested positive for Trenbolone, which is a steroid used in veterinary medicine which causes rapid muscle growth in animals.
