AIU slaps Kenyan marathoner Charles Kipkurui with 5-year ban
By Joel Masibo, August 28, 2025Kenyan athlete Charles Kipkurui Langat has been slapped with a five-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) after admitting to multiple Anti-Doping rule violations involving the use of banned substances, including testosterone and furosemide.
The AIU, established by World Athletics to safeguard the integrity of the sport, announced the decision on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, after extensive testing and investigations.
Langat, 29, had initially been provisionally suspended on September 11, 2024 following an earlier violation that involved furosemide, a diuretic often used as a masking agent.
In that case, Langat was handed a two-year suspension and had his competitive results disqualified from August 6, 2024.
However, further analysis of a sample collected from the runner on July 20, 2024 revealed the presence of testosterone and its metabolites, which led to a second charge. The Lausanne-based World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) laboratory confirmed the findings on July 14, 2025, ruling out any possibility of a therapeutic exemption or laboratory error.
Langat’s denial
Langat initially denied using testosterone, attributing his health decline to injuries sustained after a race in 2023, which he claimed led to prescriptions of hydrocortisone and furosemide. He suggested that these medications might have been responsible for the adverse finding.
Despite his defence, the AIU maintained that the results were conclusive and gave him until August 28, 2025, to provide supporting evidence. On August 21, 2025, Langat opted to accept the sanction, signing an admission form two days later.
Citing the use of multiple prohibited substances as an “aggravating circumstance,” the AIU ruled that his two separate violations would be treated together, resulting in a harsher penalty.
“Mr. Langat has failed to establish that he did not knowingly commit the violations,” the AIU stated in its ruling.” Accordingly, a five-year ban has been imposed.”
The decision means that Langat will be barred from competition until September 10, 2030, effectively sidelining him during what could have been the peak of his athletic career.
This latest case adds to Kenya’s growing list of doping scandals, with the East African nation currently under intense scrutiny from World Athletics and WADA due to repeated violations by its athletes.