Medics helping Kenyan athletes cover up doping, says AIU
Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) Chief Executive Officer Brett Clothier (right) addresses jounralists flanked by Athletics Kenya president Jack Tuwei at Maktaba Kuu Tower in Nairobi on March 31, 2023.
What you need to know:
- The AIU said it believes Kenyan athletes are "being assisted by a person or persons, including someone with considerable medical knowledge".
- "It is clear doping in Kenya is increasingly well organised and these cases underline the reality that medically-experienced personnel are involved," said AIU chairman David Howman.
Paris, France
Kenyan athletes are being assisted in covering up doping offences by a "medically-savvy operation", the Athletics Integrity Unit said on Tuesday after an investigation revealed similar falsified documents in two recent cases.
Marathon runner Betty Wilson Lempus was given a five-year doping ban in January, while Eglay Nalyanya was suspended for eight years on Tuesday.
"Nalyanya and Lempus told the AIU they received intramuscular injections while being treated at the same Kenyan hospital and produced falsified medical documents to support their respective claims," the AIU said in a statement.
"In both instances, AIU investigations – in collaboration with the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) – discovered the documents were false; that the doctors listed were fictitious; and that neither athlete had received the respective injection...
"The falsified documents in the two cases showed distinctive likenesses."
The AIU said it believes Kenyan athletes are "being assisted by a person or persons, including someone with considerable medical knowledge".
"It is clear doping in Kenya is increasingly well organised and these cases underline the reality that medically-experienced personnel are involved," said AIU chairman David Howman.
"This is a serious threat to our sport."
