WADA seeks 'quick action' after fresh doping claims

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) urged the Kenyan government to act "quickly in the interest of protecting clean sport" after the athletics powerhouse found itself caught in the eye of a fresh doping storm.

Published : Jul 11, 2016 00:46 IST , London

"The allegations are a major blow as they follow only weeks after Kenyan lawmakers passed into law legislation making it a criminal act to either dope or to supply such products." A file photo of WADA head Craig Reedie.
"The allegations are a major blow as they follow only weeks after Kenyan lawmakers passed into law legislation making it a criminal act to either dope or to supply such products." A file photo of WADA head Craig Reedie.
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"The allegations are a major blow as they follow only weeks after Kenyan lawmakers passed into law legislation making it a criminal act to either dope or to supply such products." A file photo of WADA head Craig Reedie.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) urged the Kenyan government to act "quickly in the interest of protecting clean sport" after the athletics powerhouse found itself caught in the eye of a fresh doping storm.

A new investigation by German television channel ARD and Britain's Sunday Times newspaper alleged Saturday that doping is rife at the elite training centre in Iten. Previous joint research by ARD and the British newspaper led to the banning of the Russian athletics' team from the Games for state sponsored doping.

>Read: Kenyan athletics in dock again over doping

Over the past three years some 40 Kenyan athletes have failed doping tests, shredding their reputation for probity and laying bare the reality behind their reputation as the most dominant middle to long distance running nation in the world.

The allegations are a major blow as they follow only weeks after Kenyan lawmakers passed into law - having been threatened with a similar sanction as the Russians by WADA - legislation making it a criminal act to either dope or to supply such products.

The documentary, largely filmed with a hidden camera, says it successfully infiltrated one of their team posing as an athlete into the training centre, a favoured spot for distance runners, both Kenyan and European, as it is at high altitude 2400 metres above sea level.

The documentary shows images of boxes of the endurance boosting drug EPO on the inside of the training centre and used syringes dumped in a bin. A man said to be the coach of an Olympic champion, appearing with his face hidden, confirms the claims made in the documentary.

"The great majority of the athletes who appear out of nowhere are doped," he says.

The chief executive of UK Anti-Doping, Nicole Sapstead, said the report was "of grave concern and of significant interest", adding they were investigating.

Newly-installed WADA director-general Olivier Niggli, in a statement issued from the organisation's Montreal headquarters, said he had "full confidence " in UKAD.

He added: "This article is one in a series of reports questioning Kenya's ability to effectively address doping; and, suggesting that there exists a culture of doping in the country."

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