Kenyan athletes Zakayo, Jebitok flagged down for missed tests

Kenya’s athletics fraternity has been rocked by yet another doping scandal as the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) provisionally suspended 2018 World and Africa U20 5,000m champion, Edward Zakayo, and 2023 World Cross Country team gold medallist, Edinah Jebitok, for whereabouts violations.

The two rising stars join a growing list of Kenyan athletes who have either been suspended or banned for doping-related offences in recent months.

Zakayo, 23, first made a name for himself in 2017 when he won silver in the 3,000m at the World U18 Championships held in Nairobi.

A year later, he secured bronze in the 5,000m at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, before claiming gold in the same event at the World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland. He then went on to win the Africa 5,000m title in Asaba, Nigeria.

Zakayo continued his success by clinching the Africa U20 5,000m title in 2019 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, before settling for silver in the 5,000m at the African Games in Rabat, Morocco.

His last competitive outing for Kenya was at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, where he finished fourth in the 10,000m. His most recent race was in June 2023 at the Port Gentil 10km Road Race in Gabon, where he also finished fourth.

Jebitok, also 23, last competed at the Monaco Diamond League on July 12, 2023, finishing third in the 2,000m. A month earlier, she had participated in the Kenyan trials for the Paris Olympic Games, finishing fourth and narrowly missing out on qualification.

Alongside Zakayo and Jebitok, three other Kenyan athletes have also been flagged for doping violations. Among them is Edwin Kipkemoi Seko, who won last year’s Kip Keino Classic 10,000m title, Caroline Jeptanui, the 2023 Kilimanjaro Half Marathon winner, and Joyline Cherotich, the 2017 Africa U20 1,500m and 3,000m champion.

These suspensions bring the total number of Kenyan athletes sanctioned for doping offences in the past three months to 22, raising further concerns about the country’s ongoing battle against drug violations in sports.

The latest revelations come just days after the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) provisionally suspended Brimin Misoi Kipkorir, the 2024 Taipei and Sydney Marathon champion, who previously won the 2019 Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon.

Kenya’s Careen Cheptoek, who finished second at the 2023 Taipei Marathon, has also been handed a two-year ban for using the prohibited substance Methylprednisolone. Kipkorir, on the other hand, tested positive for Erythropoietin (EPO) and Furosemide, both of which are performance-enhancing substances.

In addition to these cases, six other Kenyan distance runners have been penalized since the start of 2024. Faith Chepchirchir Kiprotich was provisionally suspended on January 7 and later banned for three years on January 14 for using Norandrosterone.

Elijah Kipkosgei was handed a two-year ban on January 24 for using Triamcinolone Acetonide, while Geoffrey Yegon was suspended on February 11 for the same banned substance.

Sheila Jepkosgei Chesang received a two-year ban on February 14 after testing positive for Methylprednisolone, while Kimeli Kurgat was provisionally suspended on February 21 for the presence of Triamcinolone Acetonide in his system.

The rising number of doping cases has further tainted Kenya’s reputation in global athletics. The country remains under AIU’s Category A watchlist, meaning its athletes are subjected to heightened testing due to frequent violations.

With top runners increasingly being implicated in doping scandals, concerns have been raised about how deep the crisis runs and what measures need to be put in place to curb the vice.

As ADAK and AIU continue to ramp up testing and enforcement, stakeholders are calling for stronger interventions and enhanced education to protect the integrity of Kenyan athletics.

While the nation has long been celebrated for its dominance in distance running, the alarming surge in doping cases threatens to overshadow its legacy on the global stage.