Russia's athletics ban stirs fears in doping-hit Kenya

Nov 18, 2015 Following Russia’s suspension from world athletics over doping violations, several Kenyan athletes are walking around with their fingers crossed.

The unprecedented move to suspend Russia from international track and field competitions came on the heels of a report by the World Anti-Doping Agency alleging state-sponsored doping by Russia’s athletics federation.

With that in the backdrop, a top WADA official said the agency was seriously considering banning Kenya for four years, including the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Reacting to this, Wilson Kipsang, two-time London Marathon winner said:

“If the Kenyan Federation are not strict enough and are not ready enough to intervene on the doping issue, I think IAAF will really take action. If IOC takes action and maybe bans Kenya it will be really unfortunate to Kenya and to athletes,”

In the last few years, 33 Kenyan runners have failed drugs tests, including Rita Jeptoo, winner of the Boston and Chicago Marathons.

Kipsang went on to say:

“They will start to question the performance of even the clean athletes and when they start to question you find that it will not be interesting too much, even if you ran very well, other guys who are not informed in athletics or in the sport they will take that even this one is using drugs. But those who understand the sport know that tests are done, doping is done, people are tested if results come out as clean you are clean but if one is found to have doped then you are in for it,”