Kenyan 10,000-meter runner Rodgers Kwemoi has been banned for six years by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) due to suspected blood doping. The AIU’s decision comes after an investigation revealed 18 instances of blood doping between July 2016 and September 2022.
Kwemoi’s disqualifications extend to major competitions, including the Olympics and world championships. He has been stripped of seven years’ worth of results through August 2023. The AIU characterized his actions as a “deliberate, systematic, and sophisticated doping regime.”
As a result of the ban, Kwemoi loses his seventh-place finish at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, his fourth place at the 2019 world championships in Qatar, and the bronze medal he earned at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Additionally, his world junior title from 2016 has been revoked.
Notably, Kwemoi did not test positive for banned substances. Instead, he was investigated based on suspicious blood values in his athlete biological passport, particularly in the lead-up to major competitions. Expert analysts found that these abnormal blood values, spanning several years, could not be explained by altitude changes.
With Kwemoi’s disqualifications, his long-time rival Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda may be upgraded in two championship races. Kiplimo secured Olympic bronze in Tokyo and achieved a 5,000-10,000 title double at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
