The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is seeking to extend a four year sanction issued to Rio 2016 Marathon winner, Jemima Sumgong, for ‘tampering with any part of doping control (Article 2.5)‘. The IAAF’s appeal to extend a four year sanction issued by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) was revealed by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) last week, which announced details of 120 disciplinary proceedings as part of a new transparency policy. 

Sumgong was sanctioned with a four year ban in November last year, but the Kenyan Sports Disputes Tribunal detailed evidence that medical documents were faked regarding her alleged receipt of erythropoietin (EPO) as part of treatment for an ectopic pregnancy. ‘We might go as far as to state that the Athlete’s attempt to explain how the substance entered her body bordered on an attempt to deceive the Panel in view of the Hospital’s denial that the Athlete attended the Hospital for any treatment whatsoever’, read the decision (PDF below).

Details of provisional suspensions published by the AIU also reveals that Ruth Jebet is facing IAAF Disciplinary Tribunal proceedings, and Robert Wagner is being investigated. In March last year, The Guardian reported that Kenyan Jebet, 3,000m steeplechase world champion, had returned an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for EPO, but the AIU refused to confirm if it was investigating. It is understood that Austrian sports agent Wagner is being investigated after he told The Daily Telegraph that he could obtain prohibited substances. 

The AIU also revealed that the IAAF Disciplinary Tribunal has 14 pending first instance cases relating to Russian athletes, many of whom are implicated in the Independent Person (IP) Reports produced for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) by Richard McLaren. Two Russians and two Ukrainians are challenging first instance decisions through the appeal process.