The Athletics Integrity Unit on Monday announced that Kenyan-born Bahraini runner Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa had been banned for four years after she tested positive for the prohibited substance Erythropoietin (EPO).
The AIU says Kirwa, a silver medalist at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the women’s marathon, did not have a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) permitting the use of EPO.
35-year-old Kirwa’s ban begins from May 7, 2019 and all her results since April 1, 2019 have been disqualified. She is consequently required to forfeit any titles, awards, medals, points and prize and appearance money.
The AIU says Kirwa underwent an out-of-competition doping control in Kapsabet, Kenya on April 1 2019. Her sample showed positive results for EPO resulting in a provisional suspension pending resolution of her case.
The AIU says Kirwa stated that she did not dope intentionally and could only assume that the EPO entered her body through contamination during a caudal epidural injection she received in late March. Kirwa did not request analysis of her B Sample.
EPO is a peptide hormone that is produced naturally by the human body. EPO is released from the kidneys and acts on the bone marrow to stimulate red blood cell production. An increase in red blood cells improves the amount of oxygen that the blood can carry to the body’s muscles.
EPO was banned as a performance enhancing substance in the early 1990s.
The World Anti-Doping Agency says the misuse of EPO can lead to serious health risks for athletes who use it simply to gain a competitive edge.
Last week, Kenyan long-distance runner and 2016 Singapore Marathon champion Felix Kirwa was banned for nine months after testing positive for a banned substance, Strychnine.
