Kenyan marathoner Purity Changwony's career has been dealt a blow after she was banned from athletics for two years after admitting to multiple violations of the Anti-Doping Rule.
The Athletics Integrity Unit confirmed Changwony's fate on Tuesday, May 20, as the body revealed the ban stemmed from a urine sample collected during the Volkswagen Prague Marathon held on May 8, 2022, in Prague, Czech Republic.
After an analysis of the sample, the 34-year-old marathoner was found to have two banned substances in her system - Norandrosterone and Triamcinolone Acetonide.
Norandrosterone, an anabolic steroid, is classified as a non-specified substance and is banned due to its potential to enhance muscle mass, strength and recovery.
On the other hand, Triamcinolone Acetonide, despite commonly being used to reduce inflammation and manage pain, is also misused by athletes in competition.
The athlete was initially slapped with a provisional suspension from competition in 2022 and was offered the chance to have her B sample tested and to provide explanations to justify the presence of the banned substances.
Between July 2022 and April 2023, the AIU attempted to engage the marathoner for further discussions on the potential doping ban. Changwony eventually started cooperating with various Kenyan authorities, including the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
In April 2023, she returned an Admission of Anti-Doping Rule Violations and Acceptance of Consequences Form, in which she admitted to the violations and accepted the proposed period of ineligibility to compete.
Standard rules stipulate a four-year ban, but since Changwony admitted to using banned substances, she received a one-year reduction. Additionally, nine months of the remaining three-year sanction were suspended since she helped authorities with investigations.
The AIU, in their statement, confirmed the disqualification of all results obtained by Changwony from May 8, 2022, onwards as a result of the doping ban. This essentially means the athlete will have to forfeit medals, titles, awards, ranking points, prize money, and any appearance fees earned during that period.
This was the latest Kenyan athlete to suffer a doping setback, coming just weeks after Brian Kipsang was sanctioned following positive tests for Triamcinolone acetonide – a medication that is used to reduce inflammation, itching, and allergic reactions in the body.
Incidentally, Kipsang was suspended weeks after coming in second place in the Rome Marathon, where he secured a podium finish alongside two other Kenyans – Robert Ng'eno and Joshua Kogo, who finished in first and third place.
