ADAK: Medical students helping dopers

Some medical school students are on the Anti-doping Agency of Kenya (Adak)'s radar for doping related offences.

This was revealed on Wednesday during a media workshop in Naivasha by Adak Head of Legal Services, Bildad Rogoncho, terming the emerging trends a cause for concern.

With the agency having tightened the noose of the rogue medics, he said the athletes were now seeking services from medical students at various institutions.

"Äs an agency, we are now training our eyes on the rogue students aiding and abetting the wayward athletes to dope ...we shall not relent," he warned.

"Whether you are licensed or not, we shall charge  under section 42 of the anti-doping Act," said the legal officer

He termed doping a matter of national interest, with the government keen on eliminating the menace through a five-year strategic programme.

Rogoncho revealed that intelligence shows the athletes involved in the malpractice were side-stepping qualified medical personnel in preference of the students.

"We have now shifted from allowing ADAK to be the sole agency fighting doping in the country to a multi-agency team," added the legal officer.

He told athletes it was no longer an issue of random testing, with the agency having prior information of runners they were targeting to undergo the doping test.

"When we ask an athlete to present his or her sample, it was not an issue of guesswork.  we know exactly what we are looking for, and we are aware of the medication you might have ingested," said Rogoncho.

He admitted that it was "practically impossible" for a runner to burst into the limelight and start dominating races as he maintained they will be on the look out for such athletes.

He divulged that they were now implementing the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) system which involves collecting the athlete's blood sample specimen for a period of time.

"We have been able to charge athletes looking at the way their blood sample was behaving on analysis which shows there was a manipulation," added Rogoncho.

With the implementation of ABP, the legal officer pointed out that the runners had "nowhere to hide," revealing that they had set up a laboratory that was collecting samples locally and later analysed in Norway.

To help curb the vice, Rongocho said they had taken the fight to Primary Schools, embedding it in value-based education curriculum.

He said the agency had prosecuted 192 cases, with 167 0f them involving runners.

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