Kenya makes strides on doping, but hurdles remain

Kenya suffered international embarrassment in 2016 when a string of doping scandals brought the country famed for its distance runners within a whisker of disqualification from the Rio Olympics.

"It was a time when Kenya faced an enormous challenge in terms of the very integrity of our sports," said Japhter Rugut, who heads the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK), established in the wake of the scandal.

Kenya scraped through to Rio. But while its sporting authorities promised to clean up their act, Kenyan athletes have proved harder to convince.

A year after the scare, Jemima Sumgong -- who in Rio won Kenya's first-ever Olympic gold in the women's marathon -- tested positive for the banned substance erythropoietin (EPO) and was suspended.

In 2018, three-time world champion and Olympic 1,500 metre winner, Asbel Kiprop, tested positive for EPO and was also banned.

Between 2004 and August 2018, 138 Kenyan athletes tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, according to a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report published in September 2018.

The report concluded that nandrolone, an anabolic steroid, corticosteroids and EPO were the substances most used by local athletes.

However it found there was "no evidence of an institutionalised system" of doping in Kenya.

Thirty-six Kenyan runners are currently suspended, according to the Athletics Integrity Unit.

- Building awareness -
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"We have made this very clear to all our athletes that those who want to go to worlds, must also qualify by being tested."
"Every weekend, there are dozens of Kenyans winning marathons all over the world."
- 'A culture of honesty' -
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"Such athletes have the motivation, opportunity and financial means to boost themselves, and therefore there is a high demand for doping products."