Kenya's world 10k record holder Rhonex Kipruto suspended by AIU

Kenya has been hit with another huge blow in the fight against doping after world 10km record holder Rhonex Kipruto was suspended on Wednesday by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).

The AIU announced through their official social media account that Kipruto has been "provisionally suspended" for the "use of a Prohibited Substance/Method (ABP)".

The distance runner who won a bronze in 10,000m race at the 2019 World Championships, has been notified of a charge relating to irregularities in his athlete biological passport.

Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) is the monitoring of selected biological parameters over time that may indirectly reveal effects of doping.

The biological passport can detect possible irregularities in blood values assessed over time without an athlete-testing positive for a banned substance.

This approach allows anti-doping organisations to generate individual, longitudinal profiles for each athlete and to look for any fluctuations that may indicate the use of performance-enhancing drugs or methods.

Kipruto was only 19 when he finished third in the 10,000m at the 2019 worlds in Doha, Qatar. The race was won by Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei.

Months later, Kipruto set the 10km record of 26 minutes 24 seconds in Valencia in 2020 and went on to place ninth in the 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. [Additional reporting by AP]