Wild goose chase: The highs and lows of coming back from a doping ban

Kenya has for the final seven years witnessed a few of its best athletes fall prey to the scourge of doping.

At their prime, they dominated the athletics airwaves, tearing their opponents aside to win Olympic, World Championships and Commonwealth Video games medals whereas some broke world or championship data within the course of. 

Their phenomenal performances endeared them to sports activities followers internationally as they raked in hundreds of thousands not solely from prize cash but in addition bonuses from their administration in addition to sponsorship offers.

Whereas some have been barely uncooked with promising careers forward, others have been at their prime, nearly reaching the height or moderately sundown of their flourishing athletics careers. 

Then the unthinkable occurred when the scourge of doping reared its ugly head to abruptly halt their blossoming careers as they have been slapped with prolonged bans. 

The bans got here from taking various performance-enhancing substances, missed exams, proof tampering and Athlete Organic Passport (ABP) violation.

Nonetheless, it appears that evidently most of those that have accomplished their bans have struggled to rediscover their misplaced glory with some slumping into despair.

Most of those that have didn’t make a return after serving their doping bans are from center and distance races as in comparison with sprinters. 

A few of the prime weapons are the history-making 2016 Rio Olympics marathon champion Jemimah Sumgong and 2012 Olympic marathon bronze medallist Wilson Kipsang, who can also be a former marathon world document holder.   

Sumgong examined constructive for erythropoietin, generally often called EPO, and was banned for 4 years in 2019 however the ban was doubled to eight years after she lied and fabricated her medical data.

Her profession appears over with the ban anticipated to lapse in 2027.

Kipsang, the 2 time London Marathon winner was banned for 4 years for whereabouts failures and tampering. His ban has elapsed this month and HE has vowed to make a return as he turns 42 in March this yr. 

The world reeled in shock when the three-time world 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop, who can also be the 2008 Beijing Olympics champion, was banned for 4 years for using EPO, with the ban ending in February 2022.

Kiprop has talked about his return to competitors and coaching for distance races however nothing has been forthcoming. He has made appearances in native races along with his newest being within the 5,000m on the second Athletics Kenya Monitor and Subject Assembly final week at Ulinzi Sports activities Complicated however he dropped out after solely two laps. 

Elijah Manang’oi, the 2017 World 1,500m and 2018 Commonwealth 800m champion, was banned for 2 years in 2020 for lacking exams and the suspension resulted in 2022.

Manang’oi has competed in a number of races since 2022 together with the trials for the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.

Nonetheless, there was no main breakthrough, returning his finest of three:37.03 in 2022 and three:36.79 in 2023, a far cry from his finest of three:28.80 from 2017, a season he earned recognition as one of many prime 100 most influential Africans by New African journal.

Manang’oi stated that one takes time to settle each in thoughts and physique when getting back from a ban and extra so, altering coaches.  

“I needed to go underneath after the ban to rebuild myself effectively. It takes a number of time to recuperate, particularly mentally, greater than anything when such issues happen,” stated Manang’oi, including that household points additionally crept in with a sick father or mother to take care of delaying his sturdy return. 

“However I’m absolutely again and loaded with nothing to concern or fear about this season,” stated Manang’oi.

Kipyegon Bett, the fast-rising 2016 world under-20 800m champion, was thought to be two-time Olympic champion and 800m world document holder David Rudisha’s inheritor particularly after bagging bronze on the 2017 World championships.

Bett, who’s now 25, can be banned for 4 years in 2018 after he examined constructive for EPO. He made a return in 2022 to compete in a single AK meet however has not competed once more since then.

One other 800m prospect was the 2014 world under-20 800m champion Alfred Kipketer, who was suspended for 2 years in 2020 for lacking a take a look at and his return in 2022 has not yielded good outcomes.

Abraham Kiptum, who broke the world half marathon document in 2018 Valencia in a time of 58:18, was banned for 4 years for ABP violation on the eve of the 2019 London Marathon. Kiptum, whose document was expunged made a return to complete ninth at Shenzhen Baoan Worldwide Marathon on New Yr’s Eve.

One of the vital attention-grabbing circumstances was that of Mathew Kisorio, who examined constructive for steroids on the 2012 Kenyan Athletics Championships and admitted his drug use, claiming that medical workers in Kenya had promoted a system of doping to athletes.

Kisorio was on a gradual rise after serving two years for doping, with podium finishes within the Valencia  Marathon in 2014 (third), 2015 (second) and 2018(third). He additionally completed second at 2018 Paris earlier than successful the 2017 Daegu, 2019 Eldoret Marathon and 2019 Beijing Marathon.
In 2022, Kisorio was banned once more for 2 years for whereabouts failure.

Moreover Sumgong, Rita Jeptoo’s doping case drew headlines internationally after she was banned for 2 years moments after retaining her Boston and Chicago Marathon title in 2014.
Jeptoo was banned for 2 years in 2014 after she examined constructive to Erythropoietin (EPO) however her ban was prolonged for 2 extra years after she lied in her defence and her victories in Chicago and Boston have been scrapped.  

Jeptoo has tried to make a comeback, working regional races as an example when she completed fourth at Kigali Worldwide Marathon and Commonplace Chartered Nairobi Marathon respectively in 2022 and fifth on the 2023 Nairobi Metropolis Marathon.

Regardless that she is but to make an excellent influence internationally, Jeptoo says she is going to quickly bounce again to her successful methods. 

“Quickly you will note me doing what I’m used to doing, successful massive races. To this point the whole lot is okay, I’ve no harm and I thank God for maintaining me protected,” says Jeptoo, including that it isn’t simple to make an influence instantly after staying away for lengthy.

Lucy Kabuu, who claimed gold in 10,000m and silver in 5,000m on the 2006 Commonwealth Video games, was touted as the following Catherine Ndereba.

She made her debut over the marathon distance in January 2012 on the Dubai Marathon the place she completed second in 2:19:34, which was the quickest ever debut by a lady and ranked her eighth within the all-time lists then.

She positioned fifth on the 2012 London Marathon and third in Chicago the identical yr earlier than ending third at 2014 Tokyo Marathon.

However as destiny would have it, Kabuu was handed a two-year ban over a doping violation after she examined constructive for Morphine in 2018 after successful the Milan Marathon. The ban ran till August 1, 2020.

Kabuu has since struggled to make a comeback, ending forty third at 2021 Eldoret Metropolis Marathon and tenth at 2023 Kigali Worldwide Peace Marathon, the one races captured since her return. 

The 2013 world cross nation champion Emily Chebet was handed a four-year ban efficient July 2015 after she examined constructive to masking agent Furosemide.

It has been a battle for Chebet since then together with her presence solely felt final yr when she made Staff Kenya for the World Athletics Cross Nation Championships held February the place she completed ninth.  

After successful the 2017 Tokyo Marathon in2:19:47, Sarah Chepchirchir would get a four-year ban for her ABP violation. The ban elapsed in February final yr and Chepchirchir solely managed to run one marathon, Chonburi Marathon in Thailand in November, ending second in 2:35:43.

With lower than a yr since her ban ended, AIU on Thursday provisionally suspended Chepchirchir for the presence and use of prohibited testosterone. 

Maybe the one profitable circumstances after a doping ban is that of Africa’s quickest man Ferdinand Omanyala and distance runner Lilian Kasait.

Kasait, the 2019 African Video games 5,000m champion, was handed a 10-month doping ban after being discovered to have used a prohibited substance by Athletics Integrity Unit. The suspension ran from April 2022 to February 2023 after she admitted her guilt following a household planning prescription.

Kaisait is recent from successful silver in 5km on the World Street Working Championships in Latvia in October final yr, having additionally received the nationwide 5,000m title and Brussels Diamond League 5,000m.

Omanyala examined constructive to banned betamethasone on the 2017 Nationwide Championships the place he completed second. Omanyala had recovered from again ache the place a physician, who was conversant with sports activities accidents advised him that it was extra of a nerve problem and prescribed tramadol and depropose injections.

Omanyala, who challenged the outcomes, was handed a 14-month ban after the case took 12 months on the Sports activities Dispute Tribunal. The physician concerned acknowledged the error as Omanyala averted a most ban of 4 years.

“The whole lot that I had constructed got here tumbling right down to miss the 2018 Commonwealth Video games and 2017 London World Championships,” stated Omanyala in a previous interview.  

Even after the ban elapsed, Omanyala was banned from representing the nation after then Cupboard Secretary for Sports activities Amina Mohamed declared that any sports activities character who had served a doping ban wouldn’t signify Kenya.

“I contemplated whether or not to stop athletics and return to rugby or simply stop sports activities altogether and focus on my college schooling,” says Omanyala, who would attend rugby classes within the morning and went for athletics within the night for 2 months.

Omanyala would resolve to offer athletics one last shot in 2021.

“I advised myself if issues didn’t work, I’d return to rugby in June when the World Rugby Collection have been to start out,” stated Omanyala.

The choice was later rescinded as Omanyala made historical past to interrupt the Africa 100m document when ending second in 9.77 seconds in the course of the 2021 Kip Keino Traditional earlier than reaching the historic semi-finals on the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

He went on to make historical past as the primary Kenyan to win the Commonwealth Video games 100m title in 2022 in Birmingham and Africa 100m title in Mauritius. 

Omanyala is the primary Kenyan to win 100m on the Diamond league with victory in Monaco in July final yr. 

Nationwide sprints coach Steven Mwaniki stated {that a} sturdy return from a ban is dependent upon self-drive.

“One can nonetheless regain their misplaced glory in the event that they push themselves however normally, those that fail have been principally dishonest since they will’t carry out with out shortcuts,” stated Mwaniki, including that Omanyala and Kasait are good examples of athletes, who didn’t dope knowingly.

“It’s not simple to make a comeback particularly while you have been doping,” stated Mwaniki.