Kenyan runner gets four-year ban for sending doppelgänger to take drug test

February 6, 2024

The former indoor 600m world record holder, Michael Saruni of Kenya, was handed a four-year ban on Feb. 1, by the Anti-Doping Association of Kenya (ADAK) for sending a friend to impersonate him during a drug test at the 2022 Kenyan Trials for the 2022 World Championships.

According to the ADAK report, Saruni was found guilty of “evading sample collection, or without compelling justification, refusing, and running away.” In June 2022, the ADAK Doping Control Officer (DCO) notified Saruni that he was to undergo doping control after competing in the 800m final at the Kenyan trials, and was required to provide blood and urine samples. “It was further alleged that the athlete adamantly evaded, refused, and failed to give a sample or submit to sample collection and by collusion or trickery escaped or left the venue.” Canadian Running