Kampala-bound WXC team submits urine samples to ADAK

Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) officials descended on the national cross country team’s camp in Kigari, Embu and collected urine samples of the 28 runners in the squad for analysis.

This is part of the effort to ensure only clean athletes will represent the nation at the 2017 World Cross on March 26 in Kampala, Uganda as the country battles to expunge itself from the IAAF doping watchlist by June.

The athletes who suspended training on Tuesday and remained at their St. Mark’s Teachers Training College, Kigari based welcomed ADAK’s move with team captain and 2008 World Cross silver winner, Leonard Patrick Komon saying it will ease tension in the squad.

“We’re now free to go back to training and focusing on the championship ahead. They arrived early and just when we were about to go for our morning training. I liked how the athletes cooperated with ADAK because our job is to make their job easy,” Komon told Citizen Digital.

Kenya is under the spotlight following a doping crisis that has seen over 40 athletes test positive for banned substances but the class for the 2017 World Cross are hell bent on leaving no doubt in their mission to conquer the world.

Komon who holds the world record of the 10K and 15K road races added it was the second time ADAK had visited the camp where the first occasion was to sensitise the athletes on the importance of sampling and co-operation with the anti-doping agency in the fight against the vice.

The team captain said the visit was useful since they were taken through the new list of prohibited substances.

According to Komon, the visits were impromptu alluding to the danger of travelling to represent their nation without establishing whether there were drug cheats among them.

“I don’t think athletes need to be forewarned every time ADAK are going to make a visit because the objective is to always stay clean.

“There haven’t been many challenges in training and at the moment we’re finalising on preparations. The team work is commendable so is the morale,” Komon stated.

Head coach Juma Ndiwa said that the team was still in the process of tailoring the training to the high altitude at the Kololo Independence Celebrations Grounds the event will run in the Ugandan capital besides preparing for endurance.

He declared thus far, there were no injuries to report and his athletes and their training schedule was progressing as planned.

“We have just over a week and the most positive thing is that everyone is fit. There is little climatic difference between our training base and that in Kampala so we’re ready,” Ndiwa offered.

Tags:

uganda athletics doping ADAK Kampala IAAF Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) IAAF World Cross Country Championships Leonard Komon Kampala World Cross Juma Ndiwa

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