Former 100m national record holder Mark Otieno has blamed a supplements manufacturer for a contaminated nutritional product which led to his woes with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

He said that after using the product, his anti-doping test turned positive where WADA subsequently suspended him.

While the supplement is still in the market, the sprinter is cautioning fellow athletes not to make the same mistakes as he did. “I wouldn’t want any athlete to undergo what I went through,” Otieno told journalist Carol Radull on her YouTube channel.

Otieno is also appealing for lesser punishment from Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) as opposed to the standard four-year ban for first-time offenders.

Otieno was due to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics last year but was denied the opportunity after failing the test following an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for an anabolic-androgenic steroid in his urine sample and was provisionally suspended.

Written petitions

“We had to take a sample of the supplement I was using to a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited lab thus confirming my suspicion on one of the nutritional supplements that I had been using was contaminated with an undisclosed banned substance,” Otieno said in his first interview since the suspension.

The AIU and Anti-doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) has maintained that it is the athlete’s responsibility to ensure no prohibited substance enters their body.

According to AIU athletes are responsible for knowing what substances and methods are considered banned on the prohibited list. The presence of a prohibited substance in an athlete’s sample, or the use of a prohibited substance constitutes a doping offence.

Otieno adds that the allegations have caused him huge personal loss and hopes that his name will be cleared in due time.

“I have written petitions to the president, the cabinet and parliament outlining my experience and requesting that legislative and policy measures are put in place to better protect young and new athletes from falling prey to the same situation,” he said.

The emotional sprinter who is hopeful of competing again disclosed how the past few months have been rough and unforgiving for him even as he works to clear his name.

“I worked so hard in training, travelled globally to look for qualification time prior to the national trials, and eventually got it. Previous I had been tested for seven years, and I have never violated the anti-doping rules, the incident really depressed me and my family,” Otieno said 

The former 100m national record holder had previously represented Kenya at the 2017 World Championships, the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and the 2021 World Relays Championships where he won silver in the relays.