Kenyan runner gets eight-year ban for second doping offence

NAIROBI: Kenyan marathon runner Salome Biwott has been suspended for eight years after testing positive for a banned substance for the second time, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Thursday.

The 36-year-old runner tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid when competing in the Sao Paulo International marathon in June, the AIU said in a statement. She had previously been banned for two years after testing positive for the same substance in 2012 after her victory at the Nairobi Marathon.

Biwott, who achieved a personal best time of 2hr 30min 47sec at the Hamburg Marathon in 2016, becomes the third female Kenyan marathon runner to be hit with a lengthy ban for doping.

The others are Rio Olympic champion Jemima Sumgong and Lilian Moraa Mariita. Her suspension brings to 10 the number of elite Kenyan athletes that AIU has either suspended or banned for doping offences this year.