Ezekiel Kipkorir, a Kenyan athlete, was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for use of banned performance-enhancing substances.
In a statement issued by the Athletic Integrity Unit (AIU), the 29-year-old marathoner was banned for three years for the presence and use of the banned testosterone.
“The AIU has banned Ezekiel Kipkorir (Kenya) for 3 years from December 5, 2024, for presence/use of a prohibited substance (testosterone),” the statement read in part.
Detailing their findings, the AIU explained that their investigations into the doping violation commenced earlier in the year after Kipkorir presented a urine sample during a competition in India, a routine practice in sports medicine.
Kenyan marathoner Ezekiel Kipkorir in a past race
Photo
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“On August 25, 2024, the Athlete provided a urine sample in in-competition at the NMDC Hyderabad Marathon in Hyderabad, India, which was given code 6553641 (the Sample),” the report read.
Three months later, a laboratory in India discovered that the sample contained elements of the banned substance thus sealing his fate.
“On November 29, 2024, the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory in New Delhi, India reported that the analysis of the sample had the presence of testosterone and at least one of its metabolites consistent with the exogenous origin,” the report further added.
WADA, in their report, noted that Ezekiel had not attained any special permission that would “warrant” the use of the banned substance as per the anti-doping rules.
“The Athlete did not have a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) that had been granted (or that would have been granted) for the Testosterone (or its Metabolites) consistent with exogenous origin found in the Sample,” WADA noted.
On December 12, WADA stated that Ezekiel wrote to them admitting the use of the banned substance accompanying his admission with an “Acceptance of Consequences Form” paving the way for his subsequent punishment.
The latest ban by the AIU comes in the wake of serious doping allegations made against several Kenyan athletes who have subsequently been banned as a result.
More recently, veteran Kenyan runner Beatrice Jelangat Cherop was slapped on Tuesday, December 3 with a ban by the World Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) after admitting to using a banned skin medication.
A photo of the AJAK emblem. PHOTO/AJAK