Kenyan marathoner banned for five years after admitting two failed doping tests

Kenyan marathoner Deborah Sang has received a five-year ban from the sport after admitting to aggravated doping violations.

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Sang, 26, is noted by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) to have accepted the findings that she tested positive for three prohibited substances: Testosterone, Prednisone and Prednisolone, on two separate occasions earlier this year.

In its statement on Friday, 22 May, AIU stated that Sang, ranked 279th in women’s marathon, reported a first adverse analytical finding on 4 March 2026.

Further, analysis on her in-competition urine sample collected on 6 April 2025, showed the presence of Testosterone and its Metabolite 5β-androstane-3α,17 diol (“5βAdiol”), consistent with exogenous origin.

Her second failed test came on 25 February 2026, when a WADA-accredited laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland reported the presence of Prednisone and Prednisolone, from another in-competition urine sample collected on 31 January 2026.

The two competitions Sang had been competing in were the 38th Comtrade Belgrade Marathon held in Belgrade, and the Riyadh Marathon held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, respectively.

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Upon notifying the athlete of her Adverse Analytical Findings on 11 March, AIU notes that Sang admitted the violations in an interview with ADAK representatives, who were acting on behalf of the AIU, 13 days later on 24 March.

A day later, Sang returned, via ADAK, a signed Admission of Anti-Doping Rule Violations and Acceptance of Consequences Form confirming that she admitted the Anti-Doping Rule Violations and accepted the Consequences specified in the Notice of Allegation.

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In deciding the length of her ban, AIU noted that both of Sang’s Adverse Analytical Findings would count as one single Anti-Doping Rule Violation, with the sanction to be imposed based on the violation that carried the more severe punishment.

As a result, a period of ineligibility of four years on the testosterone violation was applied, plus another standard two years for meeting the sanction of Aggravated Circumstances, owing to clear evidence of the athlete’s use of multiple prohibited substances.

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However, AIU considered Sang’s early admission of the violations, reducing the sanction by one year, ruling her out of the sport for five years, beginning on 11 March, the date of her provisional suspension..

The 2025 Belgrade Marathon champion will additionally see her results since 6 April 2025 disqualified, alongside the forfeiture of any medals, titles, awards, points, prizes, prize money and appearance money.