Titus Ekiru’s 10-year ban confirmed

Generali Milano Marathon 2021 champion Titus Ekiru, who was provisionally suspended in July 2023 for doping and tampering violations, has been banned for 10 years.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) handed the 31-year-old ban after investigations exposed collusion with a high-ranking doctor at a Kenyan hospital to obstruct the AIU’s probe into two Adverse Analycal Findings (AAFs), using “false/misleading information and documentation”.

Ekiru tested positive twice for the Presence of Prohibited Substances, or their metabolites or markers, in his in-competition urine samples at marathons which he won in 2021: the Generali Milano Marathon on 16 May 2021 (triamcinolone acetonide) and the Abu Dhabi Marathon on 26 November 2021 (pethidine and its marker norpethidine).

In addition to the ban, which runs from 28 June 2022 (the date of Ekiru’s provisional suspension) up to 27 June 2032, Ekiru’s results on and since 16 May 2021 have been disqualified, resulting in the forfeiture of all prizes and money.

Ekiru’s victory in the Generali Milano Marathon made him the sixth-fastest marathoner of all.

In July 2023, he was charged with two counts of the Presence of a Prohibited Substance, as per Rule 2.1 of the of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules (ADR), and two counts of Tampering or Attempted Tampering with any part of Doping Control (ADR Rule 2.5).

Initially, the marathoner signaled his intention to contest the charges. However, faced with substantial evidence against him, he decided that he no longer wanted to pursue the case.

As a result, the AIU requested the termination of the disciplinary proceedings that had been instigated before the Disciplinary Tribunal and issued a decision in the case, treating the two Presence charges and the first Tampering or Attempted Tampering charge as a single ADRV.

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In this regard, the period of ineligibility is based on the violation that carries the more severe sanction, four years for Tampering plus two years for Aggravating Circumstances, totaling six years.

 Another mandatory four-year sanction has been imposed for the second Tampering violation committed by Ekiru in connection with his explanation for the second AAF, which is to be served consecutively to the six-year period for the two Presence charges and the First Tampering or charge.

“The outcome in this case is testimony to the collaboration between the AIU and ADAK, but even more so to the important co-operation from the most senior medical official of the Nandi County Government who provided significant evidence needed to ascertain the truth in this case and uncover the complicity of a senior doctor working in one of the County hospitals,” noted AIU Chair David Howman.

The AIU acquired hospital information which showed discrepancies in Ekiru’s explanations and supporting documentation for the AAFs which he contended stemmed from prescribed medication for injury treatments.

Deeper investigations unearthed Ekiru’s collusion with a senior doctor in Nandi County from whom, on two occasions (29 April 2021 and 6 May 2021), the athlete received injections of triamcinolone acetonide during undocumented hospital visits.

There was a third undocumented hospital treatment on 19 November 2021, during which Ekiru received a pethidine injection and meperidine (pethidine) tablets (among other medication) for acute pain.

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The senior doctor, according to AIU claimed Ekiru’s visits were unrecorded by the hospital as “the athlete had attended early in the morning, before the registration offices had opened.

"Government officials are now working alongside ADAK and the AIU to uncover doping in Kenyan athletics and expose the networks that may be involved. For athletes involved in doping and the entourage who assist them, there is one strong message from this case – there is nowhere to hide. The AIU has formally requested that ADAK refer the conduct of the senior doctor to the criminal authorities in Kenya for further investigation," AIU's statement on the matter reads in part.