‘I Am Not a Drug Cheat’: Chelagat Insists on Innocence as AIU Hands Her Four-Year Doping Ban
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has banned Kenyan marathoner Caren Chelagat for four years after she was found to have committed Anti-Doping Rule Violations involving the presence and use of the prohibited substance norandrosterone.
The ban commenced on July 17, 2026, the date of her provisional suspension, while all her results from May 3, 2026 have been disqualified, with the forfeiture of any titles, awards, medals, points, prizes and appearance money.
Chelagat provided an in-competition urine sample at the Durban International Marathon in Durban, South Africa, on May 3. The sample, coded 8434178, was collected under the testing authority of World Athletics and subsequently analysed at the WADA-accredited laboratory in Doha, Qatar.
On July 7, the laboratory reported an Adverse Analytical Finding after detecting exogenous 19-norandrosterone, a metabolite of nandrolone or nandrolone precursors. The substance is listed under S1.1 Anabolic Androgenic Steroids on the 2026 WADA Prohibited List and is classified as a non-specified substance prohibited at all times.
Following its review, the AIU determined that Chelagat had no Therapeutic Use Exemption for the substance and found no apparent departure from the applicable testing or laboratory standards that could reasonably have caused the adverse finding.
Chelagat was notified of the finding by representatives of the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya on July 17. During an interview, she denied knowingly using any prohibited substance and said the only possible explanation was medical treatment she had received at a facility a few days before the Durban marathon.
She subsequently told the Kenyan anti-doping representatives on July 24 that she had been unable to obtain medical records to support her explanation. She continued to maintain that she had never knowingly used the prohibited substance.
The AIU later gave Chelagat additional opportunities to provide an explanation and supporting evidence. She failed to meet the initial July 31 deadline, although the deadline was extended to August 6.
On August 5, she contacted the AIU via WhatsApp, again insisting that she had not used drugs, that she could not afford such drugs and that she did not know how the adverse finding had occurred.
The AIU subsequently issued a Notice of Charge on August 11, charging her under Rules 2.1 and 2.2 of the Anti-Doping Rules for the presence and use of a prohibited substance. Chelagat failed to respond to the charge by the August 25 deadline.
Under the applicable rules, her failure to respond meant she was deemed to have waived her right to a hearing, admitted the Anti-Doping Rule Violations and accepted the consequences set out in the charge.
The AIU also noted that Chelagat did not request analysis of her B Sample within the stipulated deadline and was therefore deemed to have waived that right and accepted the A Sample finding.
On August 28, the AIU gave Chelagat a final opportunity to sign an Admission of Anti-Doping Rule Violations and Acceptance of Consequences Form by August 31, which would have made her eligible for a one-year reduction in the period of ineligibility.
However, Chelagat again maintained her innocence and stated via WhatsApp on August 29 that she had not used any drug and could not sign the admission form. The form was not received by the deadline, meaning she did not qualify for the reduction.
The AIU confirmed that the case represented Chelagat’s first Anti-Doping Rule Violation. However, because norandrosterone is a non-specified substance, the applicable rules provide for a four-year period of ineligibility unless the athlete can establish that the violation was not intentional.
According to the AIU, Chelagat failed to demonstrate that the violations were not intentional. The four-year ban therefore runs from July 17, 2026, while all her results on and since May 3, 2026 have been disqualified.
