Manangoi banned for two years for anti-doping violation

Former world 1500m champion Elijah Manangoi has been banned for two years by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for Whereabouts Failures, an ant0doping rule violation.

Manangoi was provisionally suspended in July for the violations and the AIU said his ban will come into effect “on the date of the third Whereabouts Failure” from Dec. 22 2019.

The AIU said Manangoi missed three tests which warrants an anti-doping violation in line with the article 2.4 “where he or she has any combination of three Missed Tests and/or Filing Failures within any twelve-month period, that period beginning on the day of the first relevant Missed Test/Filing Failure.”

The athlete is adjudged to have missed the first test in July 2019 in which according to AIU, Manangoi failed to justify why he missed the test that was slated for July 8.

On November 12, 2019, the athlete did not present his Whereabouts information in which the AIU also ruled as the second Whereabouts Failures after the athlete failed to justify the reasons for the failure.

The third missed test was due on December 22, 2019 in which the athlete stated that ‘he had been injured since 27 August 2019 and that, in December 2019, he had travelled to Austria to receive a further diagnosis and treatment in respect of that injury.

However, following a series of correspondences between the athlete and AIU, the AIU reached a conclusion that Manangoi’s explanations for the missed test was insufficient and thus constituting the third Whereabout Failure.

Manangoi would later admit to the charge for not updating his whereabouts accurately and trusting a third party to update his whereabouts on his behalf and consequently requesting for a reduction of the sentence.

However, AIU upheld the decision on the basis that the athletes’ confession would only apply to the third Whereabouts Failures thus failing to consider his request for a reduction of the charge.

Although it is a final decision from the AIU, Manangoi still has a window to appeal the ban through the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK).

The Commonwealth Games Champion becomes the latest Kenya’s high-profile athlete to be handed a ban on the premise of Whereabouts Failures after former world marathon record holder Wilson Kipsang.