Kenya’s Titus Ekiru, a former winner of the 2021 Milan Marathon with a time of 2:02:57, has been banned for ten years after testing positive for doping at a competition in Italy.

Track and field eventPhoto: Sven Beyrich / Zuma Press / Profimedia

Kenyan athlete Titus Ekiru is disqualified for 10 years for doping

The 31-year-old Kenyan was handed a ten-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) on Monday after testing positive again at the Abu Dhabi Marathon in November 2021.

Ekira was initially suspended on 28 June 2022 for using triamcinolone acetonide – a glucocorticoid that was completely banned from January 2022 – and pethidine (a drug).

Confirmation of his suspension means he will be banned from competing until 2032. The AIU added that the Kenyan’s titles and results from the Milan race were annulled and all awards he had won were forfeited.

Ekiru claimed that this anomaly was the result of the legal treatment of his injuries. The suspension followed a “thorough investigation” which revealed Ekiru’s deliberate fraud to obstruct the UAI investigation and collusion with a Kenyan hospital doctor, the agency said.

“Ekiru initially declared his intention to contest the charges. But, embarrassed by the substantial evidence against him, the Kenyan athlete refused further procedure,” News.ro reports.