The East African nation is world-renowned for its center and long-distance runners, who’ve received quite a few gold medals at Olympics and World Championships and clocked up file occasions at marathon occasions. After going through accusations of widespread use of performance-enhancing medicine for a number of years, the athletics powerhouse has just lately been buffeted by an rising variety of its runners testing constructive.

A ban would go away its athletes unable to compete globally and badly injury the nation’s status within the sport.
“We will not allow unethical individuals to ruin Kenya’s reputation through doping,” Kenya’s minister for sports activities, Ababu Namwamba, mentioned on Twitter on Friday. “We must defeat doping and its perpetrators.”

The authorities has instructed the governing physique that it has dedicated an annual quantity of $5 million over the subsequent 5 years for the combat towards doping, the Daily Nation newspaper reported.

It can be taking “firm measures” and had a dedication of “zero tolerance” in direction of doping, Namwamba mentioned.

This week Kenya’s authorities wrote to World Athletics to attempt to keep at bay a possible ban. A spokesperson for World Athletics confirmed to Reuter’s receipt of the letter. Fifty-five Kenyan athletes are presently banned and eight provisionally suspended, based on the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), an unbiased physique fashioned by World Athletics to fight doping within the sport.

Kenya is a ‘Category A’ nation beneath World Athletics’ Anti-Doping Rules, which implies its athletes should bear a minimum of three no-notice, out-of-competition urine and blood assessments forward of main occasions. There are presently seven ‘Category A’ nations together with Belarus, Ethiopia and Ukraine. The AIU mentioned in an electronic mail it had obtained a Kenyan authorities assertion however had no response.

Among the Kenyans caught utilizing banned substances are 2021 Boston Marathon winner Diana Kipyokei and compatriot Betty Wilson Lempus, who have been provisionally suspended final month for utilizing triamcinolone acetonide.

In April, Kenya’s 2014 Commonwealth Games and Africa 10,000 metres champion Joyce Chepkirui was banned for 4 years, dated again to 2019, for an Athlete Biological Passport discrepancy.