Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop handed four-year ban for doping
Saturday 20 April 2019 14:00, UK
Former Olympic and three-time world champion Asbel Kiprop has been handed a four-year ban for doping.
The 2008 Olympic 1,500m champion failed an out-of-competition test in his home country in November 2017, and his back-up 'B' sample also tested positive for the blood-boosting drug EPO.
Kiprop had claimed his innocence, saying his urine samples might have been tampered with by disreputable doping control officers.
The case was further complicated when it was revealed Kiprop was given advance notice of the visit by Kenyan anti-doping officers, and he admitted paying money to one of the officers following the test.
The 29-year-old, who won three straight world titles from 2011-2015, claimed his original and back-up samples could have been tampered with when he left them unattended for a short time.
Kiprop claimed the elevated levels of EPO in his system might have been "natural EPO" caused by intense training at high altitude in Kenya, and also said medication he had taken a week before the test might have caused the positive result.
The Athletics Integrity Unit, which handles doping cases for the IAAF, rejected all of Kiprop's explanations and banned him from competition until February 2022.
Kiprop was awarded the gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics after race winner Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain failed a doping test and had his medal stripped.
