The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) was founded by the International Association of Athletics Federations in April 2017 to combat doping in the sport of athletics. [1] [2] The unit functions fully independently from the IAAF. [3] It is currently led by head Brett Clothier. [4] The organization collected more than 600 blood samples prior to the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. [5]
Asbel Kiprop also known as “the athlete” from Kenya is known for being an Olympic gold medalist. He competed in the 15000 meter dash in the Olympics in 2008 located in Beijing. Due to the suspicions raised about the supplements and drugs that might be involved to help Asbel Kiprop reach peak performance, he was required to submit a sample. This sample was put under examination by the WADA laboratory located in Sweden. The results came back as follows, “S2 Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substance and Mimetics erythropoietin (EPO). [6] The AIU was the first official source to confirm Asbel Kiprop's positive test for the banned substance EPO in May 2018. [7] [8] They affirmed the validity of the test despite accusations of a tampered sample. [9]
After testing positive for the banned substance, other allegations against Kiprop came to light. To the charges of adultery, alcohol abuse, sexual impropriety, and doping, Kiprop admitted guilt. "I made some mistakes in life, and I have always taken the consequences," admitted Kiprop. [10]
In competitive sports, doping is the use of banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs by athletic competitors, as a way of cheating. As stated in the World Anti-Doping Code by WADA, doping is defined as the occurrence of one or more of the anti-doping rule violations set forth in Article 2.1 through Article 2.11 of the Code. The term doping is widely used by organizations that regulate sporting competitions. The use of drugs to enhance performance is considered unethical, and is prohibited by most international sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee. Furthermore, athletes taking explicit measures to evade detection exacerbate the ethical violation with overt deception and cheating.
Olga Nikolayevna Yegorova is a Russian distance runner.
Competitors at the Olympic Games have used banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs.
Alex Schwazer, OMRI, is an Italian race walker. He was the 2008 Olympic 50k walk champion.
Vladimir Alekseevich Kanaykin is a Russian race walker.
Blessing Oghnewresem Okagbare-Otegheri is a former Nigerian track and field athlete who specialized in long jump and sprints. She is an Olympic and World Championships medallist in the long jump and a world medalist in the 200 metres. Okagbare also holds the women's 100 metres Commonwealth Games record at 10.85 seconds. She is currently serving a 10-year ban for breaching multiple World Athletics anti-doping rules. Her ban expires on 30 July 2032.
Asbel Kipruto Kiprop is a Kenyan middle-distance runner, who specialises in the 1500 metres. He was awarded the 1500 m gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics after the original winner, Rashid Ramzi, tested positive for doping. Kiprop has won three World Championship titles in the event, in 2011, 2013 and 2015. Kiprop failed his own doping test in November 2017 and received a four-year doping ban.
Jessica Cosby is an American hammer thrower. She competed at the 2007 World Championships and the 2008 Olympic Games without reaching the final. Her personal best throw is 74.2 metres, achieved on May 22, 2014, in Tucson, Arizona.
Mariya Sergeyevna Savinova is a Russian former athlete who specialized in the 800 metres event. In 2017, she was found guilty of doping and was subsequently suspended from competition for four years. In addition to the ban, she had three years of elite results nullified and was stripped of both her World Championship medals and her 2012 Olympic gold medal.
An athlete biological passport is an individual electronic record for professional athletes, in which profiles of biological markers of doping and results of doping tests are collated over a period of time. Doping violations can be detected by noting variances from an athlete's established levels outside permissible limits, rather than testing for and identifying illegal substances.
In 2010 there was no obvious, primary athletics championship, as neither the Summer Olympics nor the World Championships in Athletics occurred in the year. The foremost championships to be held in 2010 included: the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, 2010 European Athletics Championships, 2010 African Championships in Athletics, and Athletics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Stanislav Valeryevich Emelyanov is a former Russian race walker.
The athletics competitions at the 2012 Olympic Games in London were held during the last 10 days of the Games, on 3–12 August. Track and field events took place at the Olympic Stadium in east London. The road events, however, started and finished on The Mall in central London.
The 2017 IAAF World Championships, the sixteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 4 to 13 August at London Stadium in London, United Kingdom. London was officially awarded the championships on 11 November 2011.
Chijindu "CJ" Ujah is a British athlete, specializing as a sprinter. The lead-off runner of the Great Britain 4 × 100 metres relay team that won both the World title in 2017 and the European title in 2016 and 2018, he also won the title in the 100 metres at the 2017 Diamond League final.
Ruth Jebet is a Kenyan-born long-distance runner and steeplechase specialist who competes internationally for Bahrain. She was the world record holder and was the 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the 3000 metres steeplechase, both achieved before turning 20. In 2018 she was suspended for testing positive for EPO.
Systematic doping of Russian athletes has resulted in 48 Olympic medals stripped from Russia, four times the number of the next highest, and more than 30% of the global total. Russia has the most competitors who have been caught doping at the Olympic Games in the world, with more than 150.
Zerfe Wondemagegn is an Ethiopian athlete. She competed in the women's 3000 metres steeplechase event at the 2019 World Athletics Championships. She competed in the women's 3000 metres steeplechase event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.