Kenyan officials, athletes call for fast action on doping

Kenyan officials, athletes call for fast action on doping. [iStockphoto]

Kenyan athletes and officials expressed concern Saturday over the future of their famed running programme after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) charged the country with non-compliance.

The Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) told AFP the issue had to be addressed by the government.

"This is a big issue that is beyond the agency. It can only be addressed by the ministry through the minister of sports," spokeswoman Ann Wairimu said.

"It's definitely something we need to act on quickly, as we only have three weeks to come up with the solution."

WADA on Thursday charged Kenya with non-compliance, starting the clock towards sanctions that could hit the East African atheltics power house next month.

The Montreal-based WADA said Kenya's national anti-doping agency "has still not addressed several critical requirements following an audit" conducted in May 2024.

Kenya now has 21 days to dispute the allegations or make the changes demanded by WADA, or be formally declared non-compliant.

Last year, ADAK expressed concern after the government reduced its funding by nearly half, with the then-board chairman warning it would affect their running of their programmes.

Sabastian Sawe, who won the men's race at the London Marathon this year, called on the government, ADAK and WADA to work fast.

"WADA would not make an issue of the doping failings in Kenya if everything was okay. I feel it is time we combat doping, which has been something like cancer, to save our nation," Sawe told AFP.

WADA's ruling "is a test of our legacy", added Kenyan athletics blogger Robert Kibet on Facebook.

In one of the highest-profile doping cases this year, the women's world record holder in the marathon, Ruth Chepngetich, was provisionally suspended after she tested positive for the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.

In happier news for Kenya, Beatrice Chebet won the women's 10,000 metres gold at the world championships in Tokyo on Saturday.