Kenya in campaign to root out doping at London world championships

Kenya will do a random and thorough test on all athletes who are eligible to compete at the London World championships before they are allowed to travel to England.

Athletics Kenya vice President Paul Mutwii said they are serious to combat use of drugs in sports and will vet all the athletes to make sure they have met the required IAAF standards.

"As a country, we are committed to ensure that we meet all the IAAF requirements and also ensure that our athletes run clean," said Mutwii on Tuesday.

Kenya has struggled to keep the drugs out of its elite athletes and will be under scrutiny as the championships runs from August 4-13.

During the last Rio Olympic in 2016, marathon champion Jemima Sumgong returned positive in out-of-competition test and the Kenyan track and field officials are not ready for another round of embarrassment at the global stage.

"Kenya through Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) has made a lot of progress towards achieving all the requirements. Any athlete, who will fail to comply with the IAAF requirements within the stipulated time, will be replaced or the slot forfeited completely in areas where we have few qualified athletes. We cannot afford to send athletes who have not met the requirements," said Mutwii.

Kenya team members have been further urged to avail themselves whenever they are asked to for dope test.

"All approvals must be sought from AK for any athlete who wishes to participate in any race outside Kenya. This will enable us to monitor the progress of our athletes," said Mutwii.

--IANS

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