From life on the fast lane to the bin, how Asbel Kiprop’s world came down crashing

Asbel Kiprop [Photo: Kevin Tunoi]

He was living life on the fast lane. Greatness lay ahead. After all, he had an Olympic gold medal and three World titles to his name. Bumper winnings from Diamond League appearances and commercial endorsements from apparel manufacturers propped his accounts. A cool wine-red BMW X6 offered a glimpse into the fine things of life he loves and once in a while, the social media scene would be treated to his escapades with lasses his desires craved. Then in a serene and divine setting where he was sitting, solemnly listening to a church sermon… boom! His world came down crashing. A text message from one of his friends expressing sympathy over the disaster that had befallen him left him dazed. Asbel Kiprop’s valiant armour had dissipated as the mainstream and social media went on a meltdown. The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had handed down a four-year ban on the celebrated Kenyan middle-distance runner testing positive for the blood-boosting drug EPO.

Reflecting on the text message from his friend in an interview with The Standard last year as he fought to clear his name, Asbel said: “I did not know what he was talking about. He (the friend) said media was reporting that I had been banned for doping. I developed a running stomach. I was shaking…speechless...My heart felt like someone had plucked it.” It was to be the beginning of a long and tortuous route to mending his battered reputation made even harder as the AIU dug in, stating, “there is, alas, in doping as in all fields of human activity a first time for everything and denial, the record shows, is the currency of the guilty and the innocent alike.”