Olympic marathon champion Jemima Sumgong was banned for four years for EPO after a doping tribunal rejected her explanation that the blood-boosting hormone was in her system because she had been treated at a hospital in Kenya days before her failed test. Sumgong became the first Kenyan woman to win Olympic gold in the marathon when she triumphed at last year’s Rio de Janeiro Games. Sumgong is the highest-profile athlete on a long list of Kenyans to be banned for doping in recent years. The hospital visit was not disclosed by Sumgong at the time of the doping test. The Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya said it believed Sumgong was taking EPO ahead of the defence of her London Marathon title in April.

Source: thestar November 07, 2017 14:27 UTC