Kwemoi banned for six years for doping

Rogers Kwemoi celebrates his 10,000m victory during the Bydgoszcz 2016 IAAF World Under 20 Championship in Poland . photo World Athletics 

Kenyan distance runner and 2016 World Under 20 10,000m champion, Rodgers Kwemoi, has been suspended for six years by the Athletics Integrity Unit after a panel hearing in London.

Kwemoi, 27, will also forfeit all titles, records and earnings accrued between July 18, 2016 and August 8, last year besides being ordered to pay World Athletics $3,000 (over KSh393,000) as costs of prosecuting his case.

In a judgement signed on April 24, 2024 and released by AIU on Friday, Kwemoi was convicted for inconsistencies in his Athlete’s Biological Passport (ABP) that could only mean he used blood boosters to enhance his performance.

Kwemoi, who ran the Istanbul Half Marathon course record of 59:15 in 2022, opted for a three-judge hearing to argue his case through a London lawyer who represented him pro bono after being notified by the AIU of his Adverse Analytical Findings.

The judges threw out his defence that his abnormalities in his ABP values were as a result of natural variations due to the physiological responses influences by the frequent changes in climate, altitude and other environmental factors.

A panel of three experts concluded to the panel that although high altitude had mild effect on his ABP readings, it was not enough to give the high variations that his samples collected from 2016 to 2013 gave.

His profile, it was ruled, bared several features of blood manipulation during the preparation for competition and it was highly likely that a prohibited substance or prohibited method was used and it was unlikely that the ABP was a result of any other cause.

Hence the charges against the athlete were proven.

“Whilst we acknowledge that altitude is a mild confounding factor of the passport, none of the specific explanations provided by the athlete can explain the severe hematological abnormalities observed.

“Notably, some of the most abnormal HB and OFF score values were obtained in correspondence to some of the best athlete’s performances,” part of the expert panel findings contained in the lengthy judgement read.

It added: “Therefore, we confirm our previous opinion that it is highly likely that a prohibited substance or prohibited method has been used and that is highly unlikely that the passport is the result of any other cause.”

Kwemoi was thus found guilty of committing Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRV) whereby there were 18 multiple instances of blood doping found between 18th July 2016 when sample one was taken and 27th September 2022 when sample 38 was collected.

The panel noted that most alleged manipulations that were done leading to the most important athletics competitions.

For example, possible blood doping was detected in samples 17 and 18 which targeted to assist Kwemoi in qualifying for the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games.

“The athlete engaged in a deliberate, systematic, and Sophisticated doping regime.

“Such actions would not have been possible without deliberate intent and assistance of experts,” the experts noted.

Due to the aggravating circumstances and full proof that he had repeated the violations, AIU  considered the matter was serious in nature.

Kwemoi’s period of ineligibility was added a further two more years from the standard four, meaning his ban will end in 2029.

Kwemoi burst into the international scene as a teenager at the Bydgoszcz 2016 IAAF World Under 20 Championship in Poland where he struck gold in 27:25.23.

He won Commonwealth bronze at the same distance at the Gold Coast Games in Australia in 2017 before finishing just outside the medals in fourth at the Doha 2019 World Championships.

He made the Team Kenya team the Tokyo 2020 Games in Japan, rescheduled to 2021, where he finished 7th in the 25-lap race.

Kwemoi last ran in Kenya colours at the Eugene 2022 World Championships in Oregon, finishing 15th.

All those results and others including his Istanbul Half Marathon record, have now been forfeited.