Shame as first time marathoner gets three-year ban for doping

Kenyan long-distance runner Esphond Cheruiyot has been banned for three years after testing positive for prohibited substance Trimetazidine.

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Cheruiyot, 24, returned the positive test on 20 October, days after he had provided an in-competition urine sample during his only marathon to date - the Buenos Aires International Marathon on 21 September.

AIU, upon reporting the Adverse Analytical Finding, on 23 October notified the athlete of his rights to request a sample B analysis or admit the violations, to which Cheruiyot responded on the same day, admitting to doping.

In WADA’s list of prohibited substances, Trimetazidine is classified as a Metabolic Modulator under the category S4 Hormone and Metabolic Modulators.

Clinically used to prevent angina attacks, which are sudden pains to the chest due to reduced blood flow to the heart, Trimetazidine is a Non-Specified Substance under WADA, and prohibited at all times.

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Based on his early admission, Cheruiyot was handed a reduced sanction of three years of ineligibility, benefitting from a one year reduction to the standard four-year ban.

Cheruiyot’s ban commenced on the date of his provisional suspension - 23 October - with all of his results dating back from 21 September being disqualified.

Cheruiyot, in his aforementioned fateful marathon debut, finished second in 2:09.46, behind Ethiopian Habtamu Birlew Denekew, who won in a time of 2:09.21.

His only other recorded competitive involvement on the road came in 2024, where he finished third in the Movistar Madrid Medio Half Marathon, timing 1:01.24.