Athletics

Kenya's Michael Saruni gets 4-year ban for 'trickery' in doping test

Kenyan athlete Michael Saruni. (Photo: X/ michezoTV)

By Agency | Tuesday, February 6, 2024

The 28-year-old is among 44 athletes, footballers, swimmers and bodybuilders who were handed bans ranging from one year to life by an ADAK disciplinary panel.

Former African indoor 800m record holder Michael Saruni has been banned for four years for allegedly sending someone to impersonate him during a drugs test, the Anti-Doping Association of Kenya (ADAK) announced.

The 28-year-old is among 44 athletes, footballers, swimmers and bodybuilders who were handed bans ranging from one year to life by an ADAK disciplinary panel as officials try to combat rampant doping in Kenyan sports.

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Saruni was found guilty of "evading sample collection, or without compelling justification, refusing, and running away" during Kenyan trials for the 2022 World Championships and the Commonwealth Games, the panel said.

"The athlete adamantly, evaded, refused and failed to give a sample or submit to sample collection and by collusion or trickery escaped or left the venue," the disciplinary panel said, adding that Saruni asked a lookalike to impersonate him and give a sample on his behalf.

During the hearings Saruni, who was provisionally suspended in January 2023, claimed he had never been summoned by testers, ADAK said.

The ban will end on August 30, 2027.

At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Saruni placed sixth in the 800m semi-final and failed to reach the final.

Nearly 100 Kenyan athletes, mainly long-distance runners, have now been banned over the past five years.

Story by AFP