media_artricles :: 2015

Kenyan marathoner banned

Kenya’s Julia Mumbi Muraga, winner of the 2014 Cologne marathon, has been banned for two years after failing a drugs test, Athletics Kenya (AK) said yesterday.

Muraga’s ban comes at a time when Kenya are under intense pressure to root out doping among their athletes who are viewed as some the world’s best middle and long distance runners but have failed a number of drug tests.

Muraga, 31, tested positive for the banned blood-booster Erythropoietin (EPO), Athletics Kenya (AK) said. Athletics Kenya chief executive Isaac Mwangi Kamande said Muraga has been summoned to defend her case.

“She still has time to appeal,” Mwangi told reporters in Nairobi.

Muraga has been stripped of her Cologne title after the German Anti-Doping Agency discovered that she had returned a positive test. Ethiopia’s Shasho Insermu, who was second in the race, has been named as the new winner by organisers of the race.

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