Kenyan Emmaculate Anyango, who had the second best performance in the world over 10 km in January, has been provisionally suspended for doping, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced on Friday.
The 24-year-old athlete, also a 3,000m silver medalist at the African Under-20 Championships in 2019, tested positive for testosterone and erythropoietin (EPO), the AIU said on its website, without specifying the date of the test. She faces disciplinary action and is prohibited from participating in any athletic competition or activity until a final decision is made. She faces up to four years of suspension, according to the code of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
In January, Emmaculate Anyango became the second female athlete to go under the 29-minute mark (28:57), during the 10 km in Valencia (Spain) won by her compatriot Agnes Jebet Ngetich, shattering the world record in the discipline ( 28:46).
Kenya invested massively and refounded its anti-doping agency (ADAK) to improve its image after a series of doping scandals which almost got it banned from the Rio Olympics in 2016, and resulted in it being declared non-compliant by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Some 78 athletes have been sanctioned over the past three years. In June, ADAK notably imposed its first lifetime ban on marathon runner Beatrice Toroitich and a six-year suspension on the men’s 10 km road record holder, Rhonex Kipruto.
The government announced in April 2023 that it would invest $25 million over five years to fight the scourge of doping, before drastically reducing this sum due to budget cuts imposed by the government.
