NAIROBI, Kenya, October 23, 2026 – World marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned substance, EPO.
In a statement, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said the 2020 Olympic champion tested positive from an out-of-competition sample, ahead of her win at this year’s Sydney Marathon.
“The AIU has provisionally suspended reigning World and former Olympic champion, Peres Jepchirchir, after an out-of-competition sample, collected in Kenya prior to her recent Sydney Marathon victory, returned an adverse analytical finding for EPO,” the agency said.
Jepchirchir is one of Kenya’s most decorated long distance runners in recent times, winning an accolade of road races in what is a decorated career.
Her latest race was at August’s Sydney Marathon where she clocked 2:18:31 to cut the tape.
It came on the back of a successful 2025 when she atoned for the pain of missing out on her London Marathon title defence to win the world crown in Tokyo.
Jepchirchir clocked 2:24:23 to cross the finish line and add to her collection of major global crowns, which also includes the 2020 Olympic crown in Tokyo and the 2020 World Half Marathon title in Gdynia, Poland.
The 33-year-old is the latest high profile Kenyan athlete to be snapped up by AIU claws, following world record holder Ruth Chepngetich, who was last year suspended for three years after testing positive for diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ).
