Rhonex Kipruto Banned for Six Years for Doping, Faces Loss of World Record and Medals

Kipruto has been banned for six years by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for doping violations. This ruling follows his provisional suspension in May last year.

Kipruto, who secured a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2019 World Championships, is set to lose his 10 kilometers road race world record and a world championship bronze medal. The AIU stated that Kipruto's Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) showed irregularities indicative of blood manipulation, likely due to the use of recombinant human erythropoietin (rEPO).

The Disciplinary Tribunal rejected Kipruto's defense, concluding that the abnormalities in his ABP could not be explained by any other means. Despite denying the Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) charge, the panel was "comfortably satisfied" that Kipruto engaged in a "deliberate and sophisticated doping regime over a long period of time."

As a result, Kipruto's 2020 10km road race world record in Valencia and his 2019 Stockholm Diamond League 10,000 meters win will be annulled. Kipruto is banned until May 2029 but retains the right to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.