Shock as Kenyan runner Abraham Kiptum is banned for four years

Abraham Kiptum (second from left) was suspended from competition two days before the 2019 London Marathon, which he was due to race in [Courtesy]

Kenya's former world half marathon record holder Abraham Kiptum has been banned for four years over an anti-doping violation, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said.  

The AIU, which oversees integrity issues in international athletics, including doping, had provisionally suspended the 30-year-old on April 26 for an Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) violation.

The passport uses blood tests to detect the likelihood of doping rather than testing for specific substances.

Kiptum’s four-year ban commences from that date and all his results going back to Oct. 13, 2018 — including a half marathon world record (58 minutes and 18 seconds) that he had set in Valencia later that month — have been disqualified.

Kiptum has been banned for four years over an anti-doping violation [Courtesy]

His time was five seconds better than the previous mark set by Eritrea’s Zersenay Tadese in Lisbon in 2010.

Kiptum’s compatriot Geoffrey Kamworor broke the world half-marathon record by 17 seconds in Copenhagen in September.

Kenya is known for its middle and long-distance running pedigree but has suffered damage to its reputation due to a number of doping violations in recent years.