Prague Half Marathon champion Kenneth Kiprop was on Friday banned for five years by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for using the prohibited substance, Methasterone.

Last month AIU provisionally suspended Kiprop alongside Ibrahim Wachira for the use of banned substances.

“On 18 May 2022, the World Anti-Doping Agency  (WADA) accredited laboratory in Dresden, Germany confirmed to the AIU that analysis of the second sample had revealed the presence of metabolites of Methasterone.

“On 31 May 2022, the WADA accredited laboratory in Barcelona, Spain confirmed to the AIU that analysis of the third sample revealed the presence of Methasterone,” the agency said.

Methasterone is an anabolic steroid that helps improve the production of testosterone in the body. The agency additionally said that Kiprop could not prove that his use of the prohibited substance was unintentional and a one-off incident.

Sample collected

The matter concerns three Adverse Analytical Findings in samples collected from the athlete between March and May this year, the first under the Testing Authority of the Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage (AFLD) and the second and third under the Testing Authority of  World Athletics.

On 7 April 2022, the AFLD wrote to the AIU requesting confirmation of the Athlete’s status in the context of its review of the First Adverse Analytical Finding in accordance with Article 5 of the International Standard for Results Management (ISRM).

The AIU confirmed to the AFLD the same day that the athlete was not considered an International Level Athlete.

Kiprop has had a successful running year. Beside winning the national title on April 27 this year, he also won Lille 10km race on March 27 in France, Prague Half Marathon on April 2 in the Czech Republic and Lisbon Half Marathon on May 22 in Portugal.

Close to 30 Kenyans athletes have been flagged down for doping offences.