- Athletics Kenya: out-of-competition test missed in November
- No sanctions after Kipsang provided IAAF with explanation
- Kipsang and Keitany win New York marathon for Kenya
The Kenyan distance runner Wilson Kipsang missed an out-of-competition drug test in November, Athletics Kenya (AK) said on Tuesday.
AK said that, according to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) rules, a missed test would be recorded against the winner of this year’s London and New York marathons but there would be no sanction.
He can request an administrative review of the decision. Athletes are deemed to have breached doping rules if they commit a total of three “whereabouts failures” within any 18-month period.
Kipsang, a bronze medallist in the marathon at the 2012 Olympics, was not immediately available for comment.
AK said that Kipsang missed the test on 13 November, and the athlete was requested by the IAAF to provide an explanation, which he did on 23 November.
Dozens of Kenyan athletes have failed dope tests in the past two years. Government officials have blamed the growing number on overseas agents and Athletics Kenya’s failure to educate its athletes properly.
AK said on Monday that the Kenyan distance runners Viola Chelangat Kimetto and Joyce Jemutai Kiplimo had failed drug tests and will be banned for two years, adding that tests from five other Kenyan athletes have aroused suspicion.
In October, Kenya’s Rita Jeptoo, winner of the Boston and Chicago Marathons for the past two years, failed an out-of-competition doping test and was suspended from competition pending testing of a B sample to be done this week.
