One more athletics giant has fallen as Kenya suffers yet another blow in the fight against doping.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has provisionally suspended Olympic gold medallist and former half marathon record holder, 33-year-old Peres Jepchirchir in a move that shocked the athletics world.
Fresh from a spectacular victory at the 2026 Sydney Marathon on August 30, Jepchirchir’s suspension came at a time when the country is beginning to spot its arsenal for the 2027 Beijing World Championships.
She joins a high-profile list of Kenyans big shots facing sanctions in the global anti-doping war.
AIU claimed in an X statement announcing Jepchirchir’s provisional suspension that an out-of-competition sample taken from the athlete prior to the Sydney Marathon win had tested positive for Erythropoietin (EPO), a performance-enhancing drug that stimulates the bone marrow to produce more red blood cells.
“The AIU has provisionally suspended reigning World and former Olympic champion, Peres Jepchirchir, after an out-of-competition sample, collected in Kenya prior to her recent Sydney Marathon victory, returned an adverse analytical finding for EPO,” the unit announced yesterday.
Jepchirchir, who trains in Kapsabet, has executed her racing and preparations for races in a textbook style.
She is a highly decorated long-distance marathon star, who is a four-time World Marathon Major winner, having claimed the 2026 Sydney Marathon title, the London Marathon (2024), the Boston Marathon (2022) and the New York Marathon (2021).
Athletics Kenya Youth Development Director and National Olympic Committee of Kenya vice president Barnaba Korir is yet to come to terms with the suspension news.
"It's a big disappointment coming soon after we were awarded the World Athletics Championship in 2029," Korir told AFP.
"We are in shock, especially in the calibre of Peres Jepchirchir after a stellar career.
"We don't know what is happening with our athletes."
The marathon star has represented Kenya at several international outings and brought home medals.
Jepchirchir is the reigning world champion after outkicking Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa in Tokyo last year.
Assefa was leading when the duo entered the iconic Japan National Stadium but Jepchirchir, who was breathing down her neck, pulled a major surprise in a race that was decided in the closing stages.
She surged forward with a killer speed that saw her bring home the second gold medal for Kenya in 2:24:43 (season best) with the Ethiopian star, an Olympic silver medallist settling for silver in 2:24:25. Julia Paternain (2:27:23) of Uruguay bagged the bronze.
In 2021, she brought home an Olympic gold medal from the women’s marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Games and weeks later she stormed to victory at the New York City Marathon, becoming the first athlete to achieve such a feat.
Jepchirchir claimed three victories for Kenya at the World Half Marathon, which has since changed to World Road Running in 2016 Cardiff, 2020 Gdynia and 2023 Riga.
Her previous women-only half marathon world record, achieved during the World Half Marathon title in Gdynia in 2020, was obliterated by Agnes Ngetich at the 2026 edition of the international show in Copenhagen, Denmark in September.
Jepchirchir’s career has, however, occasionally been disrupted by a string of injuries, but she has often made sensational comebacks.
In July 2022, she picked up a right hip injury after winning the Boston Marathon. The discomfort forced her to withdraw from the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, where she was a favourite for the gold
The following year, Jepchirchir suffered a lower leg injury in November during her final hard workout just before that year’s New York City Marathon. Despite undergoing physical therapy, she had to pull out of the race just days before it commenced.
A severe right ankle injury sustained roughly two weeks prior disrupted her preparation and forced her to withdraw from defending her title at the 2025 London Marathon. She took a two-month break before recovering to win last year’s World Championship in September.
Following her race at the Valencia Marathon in December 2025, Jepchirchir was diagnosed with a stress fracture, an injury that severely delayed the start of her training period, prompting her to withdraw from the London Marathon due to poor form.
Last October, marathon record holder Ruth Chepngetich was banned for three years after admitting to the use of a banned substance.
With the high-profile athletes falling by the wayside, the country remains in category A of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) watch list.
Earlier this year, Kenya was removed from the WADA watch list after the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (Adak) developed and implemented a comprehensive corrective action plan within a stipulated four-month timeline.
A day before the Jepchirchir was suspended, former Tokyo Marathon champion Ruti Aga of Ethiopia was banned for six years by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for committing Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) involving the Presence and Use of the prohibited substance Methylprednisolone, as well as Tampering.
AIU said the 32-year-old Ethiopian violated Anti-Doping Rules 2.1 and 2.2, relating to the presence and use of a Prohibited Substance after returning a positive test result at the Meishan Renshou Half Marathon in China on 15 March 2026, a race she won.
Methylprednisolone is classified as a Class S9 substance (Glucocorticoids) on the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) Prohibited List and is prohibited in-competition.
