Titus Ekiru has been banned by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for violating anti-doping rules for ten years.
AIU imposed a provisional suspension on Ekiru after his samples tested positive for triamcinolone acetonide during the Milano Marathon in May 2021 and pethidine during the Abu Dhabi Marathon in November 2021, both of which he won.
According to AIU, Ekiru has also been charged with two counts of Tampering or Attempting to Tamper with a Doping Control, in which he is accused of conspiring with a senior doctor at a hospital in Nandi County to falsify medical records.
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According to AIU head David Howman, the AIU obtained hospital records that revealed disparities in Ekiru's explanations and accompanying documents, which he said were caused by prescribed drugs for injuries.
Deeper investigations, according to Howman, revealed Ekiru's collusion with the senior doctor, who claimed he injected the athlete with triamcinolone acetonide and pethidine, as well as meperidine (pethidine) tablets (among other medications for acute pain in the athlete's visits to the hospital, which the doctor claimed went unrecorded because the athlete was seen early in the morning before the registration offices opened).
To uncover the cooperation, Howman claimed they worked with the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) and medical officers at the institution.
"The outcome in this case is testimony to the collaboration between the AIU and ADAK, but even more so to the important co-operation from the most senior medical official of the Nandi County Government who provided significant evidence needed to ascertain the truth in this case and uncover the complicity of a senior doctor working in one of the County hospitals," Howman said.
According to AIU, Ekiru will serve a cumulative ban of ten years, with all of the athlete's results from May 16, 2021, being nullified, resulting in the forfeiture of all medals and money.
This ban comes just days after athlete Faith Kipyegon advised all Kenyan athletes to run clean to safeguard the country's image in the marathon world.
"When you break this record, many people have doubts about how you did it, and you have to undergo several random tests to erase that." "I want to urge all athletes in the country to avoid getting into trouble and to protect the country's image for a better future," Kipyegon added.
