Kip Keino Classic Tour director, Barnaba Korir, addresses the media at Athletics Kenya on May 1, 2022.
Olympians are among 34 Kenyan athletes being investigated in cases dating back to 2016 for age cheating in by World Athletics (WA).
Athletics Kenya (AK) confirmed yesterday that they have already forwarded the names that include Olympic participants and four athletes that were dropped from Team Kenya for the World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Peru, last year .
AK Director of Youth and Development, Barnaba Korir said that WA’s Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is proceeding with more investigations before findings are made public and sanctions imposed.
Korir said through investigations with assistance from officers at the immigration and civil registry, AK have identified 30 possible cases of age cheating.
There was intense vetting before the junior trials for the World Athletics Under-20 Championships held August 27 to 31 last year in Lima, Peru.
WA had demanded for the entries to be done by June 30 using a passport with visa applications being completed by July 7, to rein in on age cheating.
“It involves parents, coaches, teachers and athletes, who are already talking to us. They have given us credible leads and the revelations are disturbing,” said Korir, who was non-committal if some officials at AK are also involved.
“What I can tell you is that it is even worse compared to doping, which is an individual affair. Age cheating involves a system and that is why we have involved AIU for thorough vetting,” said Korir.
He said that during the investigations they even contacted hospitals where some of the athletes claim to have been born.
“These are young people who were coaxed into cheating by their parents, coaches and teachers. These athletes and some parents are talking, revealing what happened,” said Korir. He warned that those found guilty will be sanctioned by AIU besides being stripped of their titles and medals.
Korir noted that before someone is handed a passport, clearance should come from the civil registry but that didn’t happen in most cases where these documents have been falsified.
Korir said they have faced many challenges trying to fight the vice.
“There are cases where we stopped some athletes only to face court injunctions,” said Korir.
In July last year, AK President Jack Tuwei sounded an alarm over age cheating charging that coaches, athletes, parents, schools and teachers and some key officials could be involved.
Tuwei noted that cases of birth certificates and passports among other documents being falsified especially in under-20 events were on the increase and the trend was worrying.
“We have been focusing on doping that has gotten out of hand but age cheating is becoming a new challenge” said Tuwei.
