Doping Shock: World Marathon Champion Peres Jepchirchir Provisionally Suspended After Positive EPO Test
Kenyan Olympic gold medallist and four-time World Marathon Major winner faces an uncertain future
Reigning world marathon champion and former Olympic gold medalist Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) after an out-of-competition doping test returned an adverse analytical finding for erythropoietin (EPO).
The AIU announced on Friday that the sample was collected in Kenya before the celebrated distance runner travelled to Australia, where she subsequently claimed victory at the 2026 Sydney Marathon.
The development has cast a shadow over the career of one of Kenya’s most accomplished marathon runners, whose achievements include Olympic and world titles as well as victories at four of the world’s most prestigious marathons.
“The AIU has provisionally suspended reigning World and former Olympic champion, Peres Jepchirchir, after an out-of-competition sample, collected in Kenya prior to her recent Sydney Marathon victory, returned an adverse analytical finding for EPO,” the integrity body announced.
Jepchirchir, who won the women’s marathon gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has enjoyed a distinguished career on the international road-running circuit.
She claimed the New York City Marathon title in 2021, followed by victory at the Boston Marathon in 2022, before adding the London Marathon crown in 2024.
Her triumph at the 2026 Sydney Marathon brought her tally of World Marathon Major victories to four, further cementing her reputation among the leading female marathon runners of her generation.
The Kenyan star is also a former world record-holder in the women’s half-marathon, underlining her versatility and dominance across long-distance road racing.
EPO is a prohibited substance that stimulates red blood cell production, potentially increasing the body’s oxygen-carrying capacity and improving endurance performance.
A provisional suspension prevents an athlete from competing while the case proceeds, but it does not, by itself, constitute a final determination of an anti-doping rule violation.
