KENYA – A Kenyan athlete allegedly avoided being tested by the anti-doping team that came calling unexpectedly at a training camp in Kapsabet, Nandi County.
According to Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTE), a semi-state company and the national public service media of Ireland, the agents wanted to have samples of the athlete only for him to go missing, on what looked liked he had gone to relieve himself.
An AK official Barnabas Korir disclosed to RTE that a top runner got away through the window when anti-doping agents from Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) reported at the camp.
“After testers introduced themselves and why they visited the camp, one athlete left as if to answer a call of nature only to jump through the window and over the fence,” Korir said, according to RTE.
The official refused to talk much about the runner, when asked about his track records. Instead, he said; “He is a fairly well known athlete.” And emphasised that, “They won’t escape from the tough measures put in place, however fast they run away and however long it takes.”
The drama comes hot on the heels, following Tuesday’s charging of Alfred Kipketer by AIU on what it termed as failure to reveal his whereabouts.
In addition, former world Marathon holder, Wilson Kipsang had been suspended last week by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for same charges and tampering with samples.
The latest anti-doping rules demand that athletes should always inform the anti-doping testers of their whereabouts, every hour on a day, where failure to avail oneself three times in a year attracts direct ban.
