Imeta among 20 athletes flagged by ADAK for doping
Samuel Imeta is among 20 athletes provisionally suspended by ADAK for doping offences.
What you need to know:
- Fast-rising 100 metres sprinter Samuel Imeta, 2021 World Under-20 3,000m silver medallist Zena Jemutai and Africa 800m champion Jarinter Mawia are some of the elite athletes who have been nabbed
- Imeta tested positive for Anabolic Androgenic Steroids during the second Athletics Kenya Track and Field Meeting on February 24 at the Nyayo National Stadium
- With Imeta under provisional suspension, all the aforementioned efforts including the 4x100m performance are all in vain
The Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) has provisionally suspended 20 more athletes for various doping offences.
Fast-rising 100 metres sprinter Samuel Imeta, 2021 World Under-20 3,000m silver medallist Zena Jemutai and Africa 800m champion Jarinter Mawia are some of the elite athletes who have been nabbed.
Also to be flagged down are sprinter-cum-distance runner Evangeline Makena, the Kip Keino Classic 400m hurdles champion Hannah Mwangi, 400m athlete Gladys Nthenya Musyoki and distance runner Agnes Mumbua.
In January, ADAK published a list of 20 sportsmen and women they had provisionally suspended for doping rules violation. They were drawn from athletics, football, judo and body-building.
The latest list is from athletics, rugby and body-building.
Others from athletics are distance runners Bernard Cheruiyot Chepkwony, Victor Koskey, Collins Koros, Amos Kiprotich, Stephen Kipchirchir Kiplagat, Eric Kiptoo, John Kariuki Gikonyo and Cynthia Kendi.
Former Mr. Kenya Body-Building champion Rashid Issa has been suspended for failing to submit samples while rugby player Elphas Emong and basketballer David Yamo tested positive to canabinoids.
Imeta tested positive for Anabolic Androgenic Steroids during the second Athletics Kenya Track and Field Meeting on February 24 at the Nyayo National Stadium.
Imeta clocked an explosive 9.94 seconds, to finish second behind winner Ferdinand Omanyala, who timed 9.81 but the times were not ratified after the electronic timing machine was found to be faulty.
Imeta finished fourth behind Omanyala, who won at the Athletic South Africa (ASA) Grand Prix 1 on April 1, clocking 10.39 against 10.12 before settling second at ASA Grand Prix 2in 10.22 also behind Omanyala in 10.05.
But Imeta would win ASA Grand Prix 3 in 10.12 before crossing over to Botswana where he won the men’s 100m final 2 in 10.10 at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix. Omanyala won the 100m final 1 in wind assisted 9.78.
Imeta would team with Omanyala, Boniface Mweresa and Stephen Ochieng to win the 4x110m in 38.26 to move to position 12 in the world ranking and in pole position for the world championships in Budapest.
With Imeta under provisional suspension, all the aforementioned efforts including the 4x100m performance are all in vain.
Jemutai, who finished fifth in 3,000m during the world under-20 last year, tested positive for the presence of prohibited substance Triamcinolone acetonide in samples taken during the Athletics Kenya National Cross Country Championships on January 21, this year.
Jemutai finished third in women’s 10km during the cross country event and went on to finish third at the Sirikwa Cross Country Classic on February 4, this year.
Mawia was busted in an out-of-competition test in samples taken in November and December last year respectively. She tested positive for several banned substances including erythropoietin (EPO).
Makena’s samples from the third and fourth Athletics Kenya Track and Field Meetings in Thika and Mombasa respectively in March this year returned positive to Prednisone, prednisone and triamcinolone acetonide.
