Kenyan marathon runner Titus Ekiru has been served a 10-year ban for doping by the Athletics Integrity Unit. His ban will last from June 28, 2022—the date of his provisional suspension—until June 27, 2032. After an investigation, the 31-year-old athlete was found guilty on two charges of tampering and testing positive for banned substances on two separate occasions.
The positive tests have called into question all of Ekiru’s career success. He is best known for his marathon personal best of 2:02:57, achieved in his win at the Milan Marathon two years ago. That time put him at the sixth fastest marathon of all time on the world rankings list. However, the two positive tests were from Milan, where triamcinolone acetonide was found in his system, and the Abu Dhabi Marathon, where synthetic opioid was detected. Both of those victories have been annulled, including times and prize money from each event.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has considered triamcinolone a prohibited substance since 2014, because of its ability to help athletes lose weight without losing a significant amount of power.
Athletics Weekly reports that the AIU discovered Ekiru’s collusion with a senior doctor in Nandi County, Kenya, who twice administered injections of triamcinolone acetonide during undocumented hospital visits on April 29, 2021 and May 6, 2021. The AIU has requested that the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya also refer the senior doctor to Kenyan criminal authorities for further investigation.
Ekiru had a third undocumented hospital treatment on November 19, 2021, when he received a pethidine injection and meperidine (pethidine) tablets and other medication for acute pain. The AIU said in a statement: “The senior doctor claimed Ekiru’s visits were unrecorded by the hospital as ‘the athlete had attended early in the morning, before the registration offices had opened’.”
The marathoner told the AIU he received an outpatient number and card on his first visit on April 29, and then used them again on his second visit on May 6, but obtained hospital documents showed that the outpatient number was not issued until June 16, 2021, the one instance in which the hospital confirmed Ekiru as an outpatient.
The AIU concluded that the submitted medical documents used to explain Ekiru’s two positive tests were forged and inconsistent with hospital records. Athletics Weekly reports that while Ekiru initially wished to contest the charges, once faced with all the evidence against him, he declined to pursue the case.
With Ekiru’s victories annulled, Evans Chebet and Gabriel Geay’s 2:03:00 performances at the Valencia Marathon in 2020 and 2022, respectively, are now tied for the sixth fastest marathon of all time.
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, Like the Wind Magazine, The New York Times, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
