Kenya’s marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir provisionally banned by AIU
Jepchirchir tested positive for banned blood booster EPO in a sample taken before her Sydney Marathon win in August.
Kenya’s world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned blood booster EPO in a sample taken before her Sydney Marathon victory, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said.
The AIU added that the out-of-competition sample collected in Kenya returned an adverse analytical finding for EPO (erythropoietin), which boosts the production of red blood cells.
“I can only say that I feel terrible about what happened and I think it’s only right that an athlete who uses performance enhancing drugs should be disqualified,” her agent Gianni Demadonna said in an emailed statement.
“Our commitment to clean sport is unwavering. Every athlete who lines up in Sydney deserves to race on a level playing field and every participant and spectator deserves to trust the result they see at the finish line.