Olympic and world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir suspended in doping case

MONACO (AP) — Olympic and world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended over a positive drug test for the banned substance EPO, the Athletics Integrity Unit said Friday.

Jepchirchir won women’s marathon gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the world title last year. She is also a former world record holder in the half marathon.

The AIU, which investigates doping in track and field on behalf of the sport’s governing body World Athletics, posted on X that “an out-of-competition sample, collected in Kenya prior to her recent Sydney Marathon victory, returned an adverse analytical finding for EPO.”

Jepchirchir won the Sydney Marathon in August.

It’s the latest in a long series of doping cases involving distance runners from Kenya, which was awarded the 2029 world track championships last month.

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The Associated Press