Kenya has missed a deadline to prove that it is tackling cheating in athletics to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), following a number of positive drugs tests among the country’s athletes and fresh allegations of corruption.
STORY BACKGROUND
Since 2011, more than 40 Kenyan athletes have failed drugs tests.
As of January 2016, 18 Kenyan athletes were suspended for doping.
Those 18 athletes are serving bans totalling 55 years.
The best known is Rita Jeptoo, who has won the Boston and Chicago marathons.
Lilian Moraa Mariita was given the longest ban – eight years for taking steroids.
For several months, Wada has been trying to persuade Kenya to set up an effective national agency so more drug tests can be conducted, but progress has been slow.
The Kenyan parliament has not yet passed legislation and proposed annual funding of 500m Kenyan shillings (£3.5m) has still not been released.
A Wada taskforce met with Kenyan officials in Nairobi last week and asked for certain assurances by Thursday.
But Kenya has now been referred to Wada’s compliance committee and placed on a ‘watch-list’ of nations at risk of breaching the agency’s code.
They now have two months to bring in new legislation and funding, or automatically be declared non-compliant with Wada along with Brazil, Belgium, France, Greece, Mexico and Spain.
