Kenya’s Middle-Distance Runner Kipketer Handed Two-Year Ban

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has banned Kenya’s middle-distance runner Alfred Kipketer for two years for failing to make himself available for doping tests.

Kipketer, who raced in the 800-metre final at the 2016 Olympics, was punished after four whereabouts failures within a 12-month period.

The 23-year-old was provisionally suspended in January 2020 or the violations and the AIU said his ban will come into effect “on the date of the fourth whereabouts failure” from November 26, 2019.

The ruling means “disqualification of all competitive results obtained by the athlete since 26 November 2019 with all resulting consequences, including the forfeiture of any titles, awards, medals, points prizes and appearance money,” AIU said in the statement.

Kipketer won gold at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Oregon, USA having reigned supreme at the 2013 World Youth Games in Bahamas.

He becomes the first elite Kenyan athlete to be banned by AIU this year.

A total of 45 Kenyan athletes are currently serving suspensions, according to the AIU database.

Athletes are required to keep drug-testers informed of their whereabouts for one hour each day. If they fail to do that, or aren’t present at the location where they said they would be, that is a violation. Three violations usually lead to a suspension.