Kenyan officials, athletes call for fast action on doping

NairobI – Kenyan athletes and officials expressed concern on Sept 13 over the future of their famed running programme, after the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) charged the country with non-compliance.

The Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (Adak) told AFP the issue had to be addressed by the government.

“This is a big issue which is beyond the agency. It can only be addressed by the ministry through the minister of sports,” spokeswoman Ann Wairimu said.

“It’s definitely something we need to act on quickly, as we only have three weeks to come up with the solution.”

Wada on Sept 11 charged Kenya with non-compliance, starting the clock towards sanctions that could hit the East African athletics powerhouse in October.

The Montreal-based Wada said Kenya’s national anti-doping agency “has still not addressed several critical requirements following an audit” conducted in May 2024.

Kenya now has 21 days to dispute the allegations or make the changes demanded by Wada, or be formally declared non-compliant.

Last year, Adak expressed concern after the government reduced its funding by nearly half, with the then-board chairman warning it would affect their running of their programmes.

Sabastian Sawe, who won the men’s race at April’s London Marathon, called on the government, Adak and Wada to work fast.

“Wada would not make an issue on the doping failings in Kenya if everything was okay. I feel it is time we combat doping, which has been something like cancer, to save our nation,” he told AFP.

Wada’s ruling “is a test of our legacy”, added Kenyan athletics blogger Robert Kibet on Facebook.

In one of the highest profile doping cases in 2025, the women’s world record holder in the marathon, Ruth Chepngetich, was provisionally suspended in July after she tested positive for the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.

In happier news for Kenya, Beatrice Chebet won the women’s 10,000 metres gold at the world championships in Tokyo on Sept 13.

The 25-year-old, the world record holder in both the 5,000m and 10,000m, clocked 30min 37.61sec for the first track gold of the championships.

But Chebet suggested that she would not take a crack at the double. “The season has been long, so we are going to close the season and go for holiday,” she said.

Chebet added the world title to her Olympic crown at Paris 2024, where the Kenyan also won the 5,000m.

“I wanted that gold medal so much,” she said. “I have never won a gold at the world championships, so I was sure I had to get it.”

Italy’s Nadia Battocletti claimed silver in a national record of 30:38.23, while Ethiopia’s defending champion Gudaf Tsegay took bronze in 30:39.65. AFP