Why Kenyan athlete will part with money to have his suspension lifted

Kenyan runner Emmanuel Kiprop Kipruto has been suspended from participating in athletics by the Athletes’ Representatives Panel.

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A communique by World Athletics on Friday, 19 December stated that the 26-year-old had failed to comply with an order raised by the Panel, following a dispute lodged against him under the Athletes' Representatives Rules.

In its decision, the Panel, which is a first-instance body that has the power to make decisions granted to it by Athlete Representative Rules, ordered that Kipruto stood suspended from the sport, until he provided it with copies of all contractual documentation, together with a full breakdown of his earnings related to his employment with a Japanese club.

The Panel also ordered that Kipruto reimburse expenses paid on his behalf by his Athlete Representative.

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Kipruto, who last ran a 10,000m race at the 68th Kyushu Corporate Athletics Championships in Japan in May, was in the Panel’s determination, in addition to providing the necessary disclosures, given a set time limit by which he was expected to reimburse the expenses.

Failure to do that, the panel noted, would result in an automatic suspension from participating in athletics, until such reimbursement has been made.

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World Athletics noted that the suspension would be lifted only upon confirmation that the requirements set out in the Panel’s decision had been satisfied in full.

The case affecting Kiprop, who represented Kenya at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships in Barthurst, Australia, falls right into the rules the World Athletics Council set out on 14 August 2023, aimed at introducing a centralised regulatory framework governing the activities of Athletes’ Representatives (ARs) on a worldwide basis.

Of all the three races Kiprop took part in this year, all of them were held in Japan, which is noted to be home to his representative.

In 2024, Kiprop, a multiple AK Weekend Meet winner, also ran five of his seven races in Japan, the first of those coming nearly five months after he won the 1500m final at the second Athletics Kenya meet Ulinzi Sports Complex in Lang'ata, timing a personal best 3:38.38.