Kenyan half-marathoner slapped with two-year ban after doping admission
Reading Time: 2min | Mon. 11.08.25. | 17:03
The 26-year-old will now have her results dating back to 8 April this year disqualified
Kenyan long-distance runner Judy Jelagat Kemboi has been handed a two-year doping ban after testing positive for the presence and use of the prohibited substance hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ).
The Monday, 11 August announcement by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) comes after the 26-year-old admitted to the Anti-Doping rule violation on Thursday, 7 August, just a day after being notified of her provisional suspension.
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In the ruling, Jelagat, currently ranked seventh in women’s road running, provided a urine sample out-of-competition in Kenya on Tuesday, 8 April, which reported an Adverse Analytical Finding upon review by a WADA-accredited laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday, 2 May.
Upon being notified, Jelagat, together with her authorised representative, attended an interview with AIU representatives on Tuesday, 3 June, where she offered her explanation, saying that she had attended a medical centre/clinic in Eldoret for treatment in April 2025, and had been given several medications.
Jelagat also provided the AIU with copies of medical documents relating to her treatment, including a medical prescription, medical notes, and an official receipt from the medical centre for a payment of Ksh3,500 made on Thursday, 3 April 2025.
In addition, the second-place finisher at this year’s Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon provided the AIU with several pictures of the medicines that she had taken, and of the container of a supplement, ABE (All Black Everything) Ultimate Pre-Workout.
On Monday, 9 June, Jelagat confirmed that she wished for the medicines she had retained in her possession to be analysed for the presence of HCTZ at her own cost, only for an accredited laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria, to confirm that its analysis of the medicines did not reveal the presence of HCTZ.
AIU proceeded to issue her with a notice of charge on Wednesday, 6 August, before receiving her admission of the anti-doping rule violation the following day.
The AIU has banned Judy Jelagat Kemboi (Kenya) for 2 years, from 6 August 2025, for the Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Hydrochlorothiazide). DQ results since 8 April 2025.
— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) August 11, 2025
Details here: https://t.co/eRtNF100pL pic.twitter.com/Jdrg32grzE
The estimated concentration of HCTZ in Jelagat’s sample was recorded as 3,200ng/mL, which is 160 times more than its minimum reporting level.
The substance, which women’s marathon record holder Ruth Chepng’etich also tested positive for last month, acts as a masking agent and is used clinically to treat fluid retention and hypertension.
Jelagat’s doping ban commenced on Wednesday, 6 August, but any of her medals, titles, awards, medals, points, prizes and appearance money garnered since Tuesday, 8 April, are now disqualified.
One such result includes her third-place finish at the Istanbul Half Marathon on Sunday, 27 April.
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