This archive report was first published on 11 November 2019.
On November 11, 2019, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced that Abraham Kiptum, a Kenyan athlete, had been handed a four-year ban after failing a doping test.
The AIU stated that Kiptum had violated the anti-doping rules due to abnormalities in the haematological module of his Athlete Biological Passport (ABP), which indicated the use of a prohibited substance or method.
Between October 13, 2018, and December 25, 2018, Kiptum underwent seven tests, during which he posted an abnormal ABP profile, according to the AIU.
The Athlete Biological Passport is an electronic record that compiles and collates an athlete's test results and other data over time, making it unique to that particular athlete.
As a result of the doping test, Kiptum was provisionally suspended on April 26, 2019.
However, in his response, Kiptum maintained that he had never used any prohibited substances or methods and relied on his history of negative urine tests taken during the period of his ABP review.
Despite Kiptum's denial, the AIU ruled that his ABP profile constituted reliable evidence of blood doping, citing the First Expert Panel Joint Opinion and the Second Expert Panel.
As a result, Kiptum will serve a four-year doping ban, backdated to April 26, 2019, when he was provisionally suspended.
Additionally, he will have all the results he registered between October 13, 2018, and April 26, 2019, disqualified, including forfeiture of any titles, awards, medals, points, and prize and appearance money.
This means Kiptum will lose his 2018 Valencia Half Marathon title, where he set the previous world record on October 28, 2018.
