In Kenya, the kingdom of marathon runners, the fight against doping intensifies (2024)

In the still sleepy town of Iten, testers from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), an independent organization tasked with fighting doping in athletics, arrived at the door of the Kechei Center, one of Kenya's most renowned training centers: "We're here to carry out a surprise test on Joan Chelimo." A naturalized Romanian, the Kenyan-born athlete won the Paris Half Marathon in March and the Seoul Marathon in 2022. At 33, she is aiming for an Olympic medal over this distance at the Olympic Games in Paris on August 10.

The marathon runner, European half-marathon runner-up in Rome on Sunday, June 9, was asleep in her room. To avoid any manipulation, she was followed into the toilet to take a urine sample, which was then sent to a laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland, for analysis within 20 days. If Chelimo, who is tested "once or twice a month in addition to her competitions," doesn't hear back, she will be able to pursue her Olympic dream. If she receives an e-mail or a call from the AIU, it means that her sample has tested positive for a banned substance and she will be excluded from all official competitions. "Tests like this morning's are essential in the fight against doping," she said. "We should also multiply them at training sites because that's where we can catch more cheaters."

Since 2016, Kenya (along with Belarus, Ethiopia and Morocco) has been classified in category A of countries under surveillance by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Threatened with exclusion by the International Athletics Federation in 2022, this leading long-distance and middle-distance running nation, which has produced legendary athletes and shares most world records with Ethiopia, has embarked on a frantic race to curb the scourge. "We will spare no effort to protect the integrity of sport," warned Kenyan President William Ruto in January 2023. The country's image is at stake. In the highlands of the Rift Valley, athletics is as sacred as a lion in the Masai Mara.

The government has pledged to spend $25 million (€23 million) over five years to fund the fight against doping. Trained by the AIU, dozens of agents have been recruited. From Eldoret, the capital of Uasin Gishu county, to Kaptagat, via Iten, where the main training centers are located, the number of tests has tripled in one year at elite level and quintupled among the vast pool of national runners. The results were not long in coming. In February, the AIU announced that 44 new Kenyan athletes, including runners, swimmers and footballers, had tested positive. They were sanctioned with penalties ranging from a one-year suspension to a lifetime ban.

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