Kenyan marathoner banned for 10 years

By Peter Ochieng 

Kenyan marathoner Titus Ekiru has been banned for 10 years.

The decision which may end the 31-year-old's marathon career was taken by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for anti-doping rule violation.

Before the ban which was communicated on Monday, Ekiru was serving a provisional suspension imposed by AIU in June, 2022 after his samples tested positive twice, during the Milano Marathon in May 2021 and at the Abu Dhabi Marathon in November 2021.

Ekiru won the Milano marathon, but the ban now results in forfeiture of all the prizes.

The marathoner also faced two counts of tampering or attempted tampering with a doping control, where he is accused of colluding with a senior doctor at a hospital in Nandi County to forge medical records.

AIU chairman David Howman, said they acquired hospital information which showed discrepancies in Ekiru’s explanations and supporting documentation.

"Deeper investigations unearthed Ekiru’s collusion with the senior doctor who claimed he injected the athlete with triamcinolone acetonide and pethidine as well as meperidine pethidine tablets among other medication for acute pain in the athlete’s visits to the hospital which the doctor claimed were unrecorded since the athlete was attended early in the morning before the registration offices had opened," he said.

He added that they collaborated with the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) officials and medical officers at the facility to unearth the collusion.

“The outcome in this case is testimony to the collaboration between the AIU and ADAK, but even more so to the important co-operation from the most senior medical official of the Nandi county government who provided significant evidence needed to ascertain the truth in this case and uncover the complicity of a senior doctor working in one of the county hospitals,” noted Howman.

The ban runs from June, 2022 to June, 2032.

By the time the ban ends, Ekiru will be 40-years-old, an age that may not sustain the physical demands of a 42 kilometre marathon race.