Kenyan Rhonex Kipruto, the 10km road world record-holder, has been provisionally suspended for doping, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced on Wednesday. Kipruto is suspended for "use of a prohibited substance or method" on the basis of his biological passport, the IAU said without elaborating.
Aged 23, Rhonex Kipruto is a sure bet in Kenyan athletics: he won bronze in the 10,000m at the World Championships in Doha in 2019, before becoming world record holder in the 10km road (26:24) in 2020 in Valencia. He then finished 9th in the 10,000m at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
A country regularly pinned
Kenyan and its endurance racing specialists have been responsible for many doping cases in recent years. The AIU, an independent body responsible for tests and investigations since 2017, denounced in April large-scale doping in the country, "increasingly better organized" with "the involvement of people with medical experience".
This communication follows the recent eight-year suspension of runner Eglay Nalyanya, who was convicted of using a doping product. The conviction came weeks after Betty Wilson Lempus was suspended for five years for similar reasons.