The Athletics Integrity Unit announced Wednesday that Kenya’s Ronix Kipruto, the 2019 bronze medalist in the 10,000m and world record holder in the 10km road race, has been suspended for doping. The Integrity Unit said Kipruto was arrested for “using a prohibited substance or method” on his biological passport, without elaborating.
Kipruto, 23, is a promising talent in Kenyan athletics: he won the bronze medal in the 10,000m at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, before becoming the world record holder in the 10km road race with a time of 26min 24sec. In 2020 in Valencia. Kipruto finished ninth in the 10,000-meter race at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Kipruto responded to his suspension by tweeting on his Instagram account, “I don’t cheat or dope! The truth is in my camp. That’s all I can say.” Kenya and its representatives in endurance racing have become the source of many doping cases in recent years. The Integrity Unit, an independent body specifically responsible for examinations and investigations since 2017, condemned last April the widespread doping in the country “better and better organized with Involvement of persons with medical expertise.
