Lawrence Cherono: Kenyan marathon runner banned for seven years for doping

Cherono was suspended for seven years due to a violation of anti-doping rules.

Kenyan long-distance runner Lawrence Cherono has been banned with a seven-year ban for violating anti-doping regulations.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced the ban on Wednesday.The 35-year-old tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine in an out-of-competition test conducted in May 2022.

According to the AIU, they imposed a two-part ban, Four years for the positive test itself and an additional four years for attempting to tamper with doping control procedures.

Cherono’s cooperation with the investigation reduced the total ban to seven years. This means he cannot compete until 2029.

“The AIU has banned Lawrence Cherono (Kenya) for 7 years from 16 July 2022 for presence/use of a prohibited substance (trimetazidine), tampering or attempted tampering with any part of doping control, submitting misleading, forged/falsified information”, the AIU said in a statement.

Cherono’s case highlights the ongoing issue of doping in Kenyan athletics. The AIU had already criticized Kenya for widespread doping practices in April 2023.

Trimetazidine, a blood flow booster, has been at the center of recent doping controversies.

It was detected in Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva at the 2022 Winter Olympics.