Another Kenyan marathoner handed 8-year ban for doping

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has banned 36-year-old Kenyan marathoner Michael Njenga Kunyuga for 8 years for the Presence of a Prohibited Substance (19-norandrosterone); Use of a Prohibited Substance (Nandrolone or Nandrolone precursors) and for Tampering.

In a ruling made public on Friday, AIU, whose role is to protect the integrity of the sport of athletics, detailed how Kunyuga ended up receiving the length ban due to the presence of 19-Norandrosterone in his urine sample that was collected at the Riga Marathon held in Riga, Latvia back in May 2022.

Kunyuga’s ban was extended after the long-distance runner was found guilty of tampering as the medical documents he presented in his defense were found to have been forged/fraudulent.

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“On 28 July 2022, the World Anti-Doping Agency accredited laboratory in Dresden, Germany reported an Adverse Analytical Finding in the Sample based on the presence of 19-Norandrosterone (a Metabolite of Nandrolone (19-nortestosterone) or Nandrolone precursors) consistent with exogenous origin.

Nandrolone (19-nortestosterone) (including its Metabolites) is a Prohibited Substance under the WADA 2022 Prohibited List. It is a Non-Specified Substance prohibited at all times,” the ruling from AIU read.

Following the discovery, AIU asked the athlete to provide an explanation for the Adverse Analytical Finding which led to Kunyuga presenting documents which he claimed to have received from the Nyahururu and Iten County Referral Hospitals.

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However, upon investigations, those documents were found to have been falsified in order to win the case against him.

“On 12 April 2023, the AIU interviewed the Athlete, in particular, in relation to the events leading up to his apparent treatment at the Nyahururu County Referral Hospital on 18 January 2022 and the Iten County Referral Hospital on 18 April 2022.

The Nyahururu Documents, the Iten Prescription, and that information obtained by the AIU indicated that the Nyahururu Documents and the Iten Prescription were forged/fraudulent documents,” the statement read.

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With the evidence, the athlete was handed the eight-year ban commencing on 1 August 2022 (the date of Provisional Suspension) with his results disqualified since and including 15 May 2022.