Olympic and world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended following a positive drug test for the banned substance EPO, as announced by the Athletics Integrity Unit on Friday.
Jepchirchir, who secured the women’s marathon gold at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and claimed the world title last year, is also a former world record holder in the half marathon.
The Athletics Integrity Unit, responsible for investigating doping in track and field under World Athletics, revealed that an out-of-competition sample taken in Kenya before her recent victory at the Sydney Marathon showed an adverse analytical result for EPO.
Notably, Jepchirchir emerged victorious at the Sydney Marathon in August. This development adds to a series of doping incidents involving long-distance runners from Kenya, a country that was recently granted the hosting rights for the 2029 world track championships.
