Where are the athletes running to? Update your ‘whereabouts’, ADAK appeals to Team Kenya members

WORLD CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP - KAMPALA Senior men battle it out during the IAAF World Cross Country Championship in Kololo, Kampala, Uganda on March 26, 2017. [PHOTO/DENNIS OKEYO/STANDARD]

Where are the athletes running to?

Team manager Maswai said no athlete will travel to London if they fail to meet IAAF rules.

Absenteeism of athletes in the Kenyan camp ahead of the 2017 London World Championships is making the mandatory doping test by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) a hectic process.

The regulator has appealed to athletes to update their whereabouts, failing which they will be punished, in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code.

Some of the problems the agency has faced include locating the athletes for tests at their residential camp – and by yesterday, some of them had not reported to camp, while others have been competing in various international races.

In response to allegations that it had not planned the testing procedures well, ADAK said the tests are being conducted according to the required international standards ahead of the World Championships.

“The agency planned for tests on the list of 130 probable athletes that AK provided and since May 2017, we have been carrying out tests on athletes who were on this list to ensure that they all met the mandatory requirements.

“After the trials, many of the athletes who were on the list of probables were not picked to join the national team and instead new names made it to the team. This meant that testing for these athletes had to start afresh before they reported to residential camp on July 9.”

The agency reiterated that the regulations on testing must be adhered to, as demanded by the International Standard for Testing and Investigations.

“It is mandatory to carry out these tests and there should be no notice given to the athletes on when or where the doping control officers would collect their samples. If this is not strictly adhered to ADAK and, by extension the country, will be cited for non-compliance to the World Anti-Doping Code.

“In as much as ADAK and AK are doing all they can to ensure the IAAF requirements are met, we urge the athletes to honour the call to national duty.”

The national team's manager, Nicholas Maswai, said only the athletes who meet the IAAF rules will be allowed to travel to London.

“ADAK are doing what they were directed to do by IAAF. If an athlete will not have met the requirement(s) by taking the tests, then we will have no choice but to drop them,” said Maswai. “We are also going to drop those athletes who have yet to report to camp."