Brenda Jerotich Kiprono, who once ran a marathon in under two-and-a-half hours, has been banned from competitive athletics for four years after trying to evade a random doping test in 2023, following an uncontested case filed by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK).
The Sports Disputes Tribunal handed Jerotich, who did not defend or even appear in the case, the ban on November 4, 2024, after finding that she hid in another athlete’s room in an attempt to dodge doping control officers.
ADAK intelligence officers disclosed at the tribunal that Jerotich flew to the United Kingdom and was yet to return at the time of the trial.
While Jerotich was yet to don Kenya’s colours, the 26-year-old has recorded a few impressive results in official races, which indicate that she may have had a chance to represent her country on the global stage.
World Athletics records indicate that she has run in three official races, the most recent being the Rome Marathon on March 19, 2023 – four months before the anti-doping rule violation – where she clocked 2:30:27.
Despite finishing sixth in Rome, Jerotich was the second-best performing Kenyan, behind winner Betty Chepkwony.
In 2023, 89 Kenyan track and field athletes were investigated for anti-doping rule violations, the New York Times reported in August 2024. Of those, 60 were investigated by ADAK.
A ruling from the Sports Disputes Tribunal has revealed that Jerotich is one of the 60 probed by ADAK in 2023.
Currently, Kenya spends over Sh500 million each year to combat doping, which nearly brought the country to its knees after several top athletes like Olympians Wilson Kipsang, Rodgers Kwemoi, and Asbel Kiprop were disgraced for violating anti-doping rules.
ADAK officers arrived at the Volare Sports training camp on July 21, 2023, to conduct random doping tests on some of Kenya’s finest athletes, in line with conditions that saved the country from a blanket competition ban similar to the one Russia is still serving.
The Volare Sports facility, where some of the finest athletes prepare before going at world records, had been selected for out-of-competition testing.
Samples were collected from all athletes present at the camp, or so the ADAK doping control officers thought.
At around 2.30pm, one of the doping control officers heard some noise in one of the rooms, which was locked.
Jeptoo is a middle and long-distance runner. Jerotich is a marathon runner. In April 2022, Jerotich ran an impressive 2:28:27 at the Enschede Marathon in the Netherlands but finished sixth. The 26-year-old had until the visit by ADAK officers shown promise.
The locked room was registered to Elijah Kibiwot Cheruiyot, another athlete whose sample had already been taken. Cheruiyot was not in the room at the time.
Cheruiyot handed over the room keys and it was opened, in the presence of the camp’s coach. The doping control officers found Kimutai and Kiprono with another individual, Victor Kipkosgei Koech. Koech was Cheruiyot’s guest.
The ADAK doping control officers informed the three individuals in the room that they would all have to undergo a doping test.
When probed by the doping control officers, Koech said that the two women athletes walked into the room at some point during the day, looking nervous. They made calls, but Koech said he could not hear what Jerotich and Kimutai said on the phone.
The ADAK officers recommended that the three be charged for violating article 2.3 of the World Anti-Doping Rules – evading, refusing, or failing to submit to sample collection by an athlete.
Jerotich initially said she was not expecting to be tested and that she was not ready to give a sample. But she eventually folded and gave the ADAK officers a sample.
World anti-doping rules require all sportspersons to be available for sample collections at any point in time, a clause that allows various organisations, including the World Anti-Doping Agency, to conduct random tests to catch cheats.
Jerotich’s hesitation was seen as a violation of the WADA regulations, which ADAK has also adopted.
She was suspended from the camp, as the ADAK officers started pursuing her and the other two individuals.
ADAK prepared its anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) notice, and in the course of serving it on the trio, the agency learned that Jerotich did not have an Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) account.
The ADAMS is the World Anti-Doping Agency’s database, used for managing anti-doping information.
When ADAK tried to serve the notice on Jerotich, it discovered that she had flown to the United Kingdom in the course of investigations, and did not leave any contact information.
The agency proceeded to file a case against Jerotich at the Sports Disputes Tribunal.Jerotich did not appear or file any documents in response.
The uncontested case has now seen the Sports Disputes Tribunal adopt ADAK’s recommendation for a four-year ban, and disqualification of any competitive results by Jerotich since July 21, 2023.
