2 Kenyan runners charged, suspended in doping cases

MONACO (AP) — Two Kenyan distance runners have been provisionally suspended and charged in doping cases, including 2014 African and Commonwealth Games 10,000 meters champion Joyce Chepkirui.

Track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit says Chepkirui’s case relates to results in her biological passport, and Jacob Kendagor is charged with avoiding giving a sample.

The latest round of doping cases involving runners from Kenya in recent weeks follows a four-year ban for 2016 Olympics marathon silver medalist Eunice Kirwa.

Chepkirui, now 30, had her best season on the track in 2014, then focused on road races. She won the 2015 Amsterdam Marathon , and in 2016 placed third in Boston and fourth in New York.

The 34-year-old Kendagor ran a lifetime best 2 hours, 7 minutes, 33 seconds at the 2017 Seoul Marathon.