Olympic and world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir provisionally suspended over EPO finding

Peres Jepchirchir, the Olympic marathon champion from Tokyo 2021 and the reigning world champion, has been provisionally suspended after a sample returned an adverse analytical finding for EPO, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced on 23 October.

The AIU said the out-of-competition sample was collected in Kenya before the Kenyan won the Sydney Marathon on 30 August. EPO, or erythropoietin, raises the production of red blood cells, which carry oxygen to working muscles.

A provisional suspension is not a finding that an athlete has broken the rules. Jepchirchir, 33, is barred from competing while the case is open and can contest it through the disciplinary process. CITIUS Mag noted that she can also ask for her B sample to be analysed.

One of the most decorated careers in the sport

Jepchirchir has won four World Marathon Majors: New York in 2021, Boston in 2022, London in 2024 and Sydney in 2026. She won Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and the world title in Tokyo in 2025, and she is a former half marathon world record holder.

In Sydney she ran 2:18:31 and finished more than three minutes clear of her compatriot Irine Cheptai, according to Reuters. Sydney was her first race of the season, after she withdrew from the London Marathon in April with an injury, Canadian Running reported.

If the finding is upheld, results from the date the sample was collected onwards would be open to disqualification, which puts the Sydney title in question. CITIUS Mag pointed out that EPO is a non-specified substance on the Prohibited List, for which the standard sanction for an intentional violation is four years.

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Her agent, Gianni Demadonna, said in an emailed statement reported by Reuters: “I can only say that I feel terrible about what happened and I think it’s only right that an athlete who uses the performance enhancing drugs should be disqualified.”

The Sydney Marathon, which became a World Marathon Major in 2025, said it was “extremely disappointed”. “Our commitment to clean sport is unwavering. Every athlete who lines up in Sydney deserves to race on a level playing field,” the organisers said, as reported by Reuters.

More than 140 Kenyan athletes have been sanctioned since the AIU was set up in 2017, according to Reuters and Canadian Running.

Ruti Aga banned for six years

The announcement came a day after the AIU banned Ruti Aga, the 2019 Tokyo Marathon champion, for six years.

According to the AIU, the 32-year-old Ethiopian tested positive for methylprednisolone, a glucocorticoid that is prohibited in competition, after winning the Meishan Renshou Half Marathon in China on 15 March 2026.

Aga said the drug had been used to treat a knee injury. The AIU found that the prescription she submitted came from a clinic that did not exist, issued by a “doctor” who was a family member with no medical registration. The AIU said she gave false information in an interview on 21 April and produced a “forged/manipulated document” on 4 May. The investigation was supported by the Ethiopian Anti-Doping Authority.

She received two years for the presence and use of a specified substance and four years for tampering.

“Investigations are vital to uncovering doping and exposing false explanations,” said Brett Clothier, the AIU’s chief executive, in the unit’s statement. “Protecting clean competition takes resources, but this case sends a clear message: attempts to cheat will be exposed.”

The AIU’s road running programme covers up to 300 professional road runners and is funded by World Athletics, the World Marathon Majors, race organisers, athletes’ representatives and the shoe companies adidas, ASICS, Nike and On.