Athletics Integrity Unit, AIU, head Brett Clothier has praised Athletics Kenya and the Kenyan Anti-Doping body for helping to uncover drug cheats.
As many as 25 Kenyan athletes have been suspended by AIU so far this year with quite a number awaiting their fate and Clothier says Kenya needs to do more to fight the doping scourge.
Clothier was among guests on Kenyan television (NTV) Monday night, discussing the recent spike in the number of Kenyan athletes registering Anti-Doping Rule Violations.
‘Doping is not centralized in Kenya as compared to Russia where authorities were covering up, but Kenya is helping us to uncover those who are doing it.
‘We are seeing a group of people trying to beat the system but they are being caught. Kenya is doing well but there is need for more support in terms of funding to fight the menace,’ said Brett via zoom from Monaco.
The AIU head also explained how his body uses Athlete Biological Passports (ABPs) to detect doping through ‘unusual variations in the biological markers’ of athletes.
Weighing in on the menace, 2015 World Javelin champion Julius Yego also praised Athletics Kenya and other related bodies for taking the fight to those giving Kenya a bad name.
‘I blame the rise of doping cases on ignorance and arrogance of some few athletes who want to beat the system but they are being caught,’ said Yego.
Kenya is one of the countries AIU has categorised as a high risk doping nation. Nigeria is also in that category.
