MONACO (AP) — Marathon runner Titus Ekiru faces a 10-year ban in a doping investigation centered on the race that currently ranks him as the sixth-fastest man of all-time in the event.
The Athletics Integrity Unit said Monday the 31-year-old Kenyan faces two charges for positive doping tests and two more of tampering.
Ekiru ran a time of 2 hours, 2 minutes, 57 seconds to win the Milan Marathon in May 2021. The current record is 2:01.09 by Eliud Kipchoge in Berlin last year.
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Ekiru tested positive at the Italian race for the corticosteroid triamcinolone acetonide, which is prohibited for use in-competition unless an athlete is granted an exemption for medical use.
The AIU said a first investigation into the Milan positive test was closed, then reopened when Ekiru also tested positive for a synthetic opioid while winning in Abu Dhabi in November 2021.
“The athlete tested positive for pethidine after winning in Abu Dhabi, and again claimed the outcome resulted from legitimate medical treatment,” the AIU said.
The track and field investigation body said it noticed the “emergence of a pattern of triamcinolone acetonide use among Kenyan athletes.”
The substance is perhaps best known for being used with a medical exemption by British cyclist Bradley Wiggins before competing in the 2012 Tour de France, a race which he won.
Ekiru was provisionally suspended one year ago and was later charged with suspected doping violations in March and April, the AIU said.
Two more charges of tampering have now been added for the runner “submitting falsified medical explanations and documentation to the AIU for both positive tests,” the AIU said.
“This means the elite marathoner — who has the right to defend himself before the Disciplinary Tribunal — is facing a potential 10-year ban,” said the Monaco-based investigation unit, which praised the cooperation it got from Kenyan authorities.
Ekiru also won the half marathon title at the 2019 African Games.
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