World Athletics' Coe praises Kenyan response to doping

NAIROBI : World Athletics President Sebastian Coe on Thursday praised Kenya's commitment to addressing doping after several positive tests for banned substances.

The middle and long-distance running powerhouse avoided a ban in November despite an increasing number of its athletes being suspended for positive tests.

Kenya's government said at the time it would supply $5 million a year over the next five years to aid anti-doping efforts, including more tests, investigations and education.

During a visit to Kenya, Coe contrasted the approach of the country's sports authorities with that in Russia, which he said involved state-supervised cover-ups.

"There is no suggestion that that is the case in Kenya; in fact, quite the reverse," Coe said during a news conference alongside Kenya's sports minister.

"The fact that all these (Kenyan) agencies are in alignment and prepared to work alongside World Athletics and the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is a very, very important statement," he said, while cautioning that Kenya faced a "long journey" to root out doping.

Russia has acknowledged some shortcomings in its implementation of anti-doping rules, but denies running a state-sponsored doping programme.

Kenya has faced accusations of widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs for years. In 2016, it put in place an anti-doping law with stiffer penalties in order to avoid a ban from the Rio Olympics.

But there has been a recent spate of high-profile cases. In December, Kenya's Diana Kipyokei was disqualified as the 2021 Boston Marathon women's winner after being handed a six-year ban for using the prohibited substance triamcinolone acetonide.

In the same month, another Kenyan, 2017 Paris Marathon winner Purity Rionoripo, was banned