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Kenya’s 800 metres athlete Kipyegon Bett has been suspended from the sport after failing to submit to sample collection for doping tests, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced on Thursday.

The 20-year-old – who won bronze in last year’s World Championships in London – refused to submit to the sample collection on 15 August, the AIU, which handles integrity and doping issues for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), said on its website.

Bett’s suspension comes on the back of a provisional suspension for former Olympic and three-times world 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop, whose samples were found to contain the blood booster EPO. He has however strongly denied the charges.

Kiprop’s case has been refered to the Disciplinary Tribunal alongside that of Kenyan-born Bahraini Ruth Jebet, the Olympic 3,000m steeplechase champion.

Other Kenyan athletes who are on suspension for doping-related offences within the past month are marathon runners Samuel Kalalei and Lucy Kabuu.

All the cases have increased suspicions about the east African nation renowned for its world-class middle and long- distance runners.

Other Kenyan athletes involved in doping cases in recent years include three-times Boston Marathon winner Rita Jeptoo and her training partner Jemima Sumgong, the 2016 Olympic marathon champion.