Kenyan marathoner slapped with two-year doping ban
Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 06.05.25. | 12:49
The 30-year-old athlete returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) after testing positive for Triamcinolone acetonide
Kenyan road runner Brian Kipsang has been handed a two-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) following an anti-doping rule violation stemming from an in-competition test conducted in Rome, Italy on Sunday, 16 March 2025.
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The 30-year-old athlete returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) after testing positive for Triamcinolone acetonide, a glucocorticoid classified as a Specified Substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 2025 Prohibited List.
The substance is prohibited in-competition when administered via injectable, oral (including oromucosal), or rectal routes.
Kipsang had just delivered a strong performance at the ACEA Run Time Marathon in Rome, clocking 2:07:58, one of his fastest times.
This followed a solid 2024 season, during which he finished the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in Canada in 2:08:37 on October 19 and ran the ACEA Run Rome Marathon in 2:07:58.
He also took part in the Nairobi City Marathon on Sunday, 8 September 2024, albeit with an unusually slow finish time of 3:51:40.
The AIU confirmed that Kipsang had not obtained a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for the use of the substance and found no evidence suggesting a deviation from testing or laboratory protocols.
Furthermore, there was no indication that the prohibited substance entered his system through a permitted method.
Kipsang was informed of the AAF on April 9, 2025, and failed to request a B Sample analysis by the deadline. He formally admitted to the anti-doping rule violations on May 1, 2025, and accepted the consequences outlined by the AIU.
As this is Kipsang’s first anti-doping violation and there was no evidence of intentional use, the AIU imposed a two-year period of ineligibility beginning May 1, 2025.
In addition, all results achieved by Kipsang from March 16, 2025, onwards have been disqualified, including forfeiture of any medals, prizes, points, and appearance fees.
