Athletics Integrity Unit has provisionally suspended reigning world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir after an out-of-competition sample collected in Kenya returned an adverse analytical finding for EPO (erythropoietin), which boosts the production of red blood cells.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsThe 2021 Olympic marathon champion failed a sample taken before her recent Sydney Marathon win.Peres, 33, is one of the most decorated marathoners of this generation, holding a marathon personal best of 2:14:43 from Valencia in 2025, and is currently ranked ninth on the all-time list.##NAJAVA_MECA_10055733##Her major wins include gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and a world title from the same city in 2025. She is also a four-time World Marathon Major winner, having triumphed in New York (2021), Boston (2022), London (2024), and most recently in Sydney (2026).Her 2:16:16 to win the 2024 London Marathon was the women's-only world record at the time.Jepchirchir dominated the women's race in Sydney in August, pulling clear of the field to finish in 2:18:31, more than three minutes ahead of second-placed compatriot Irine Cheptai.Abiy: Kenya and Ethiopia must turn athletics rivalry into economic partnershipFollowing the development, Sydney Marathon shares a statement expressing extreme disappointment in the suspension, adding;"Jepchirchir is entitled to due process, and we will make no further comment on the case until that process has concluded.Our commitment to clean sport is unwavering. Every athlete who lines up in Sydney deserves to race on a level playing field, and every participant and spectator deserves to trust the result they see at the finish line. That conviction is why, alongside our fellow Abbott World Marathon Majors, we have invested in increased out-of-competition testing in partnership with the AIU, and why we will keep standing firmly with the athletes who compete cleanly.Under Abbott World Marathon Majors rules, any athlete banned for a doping offence of three months or more is banned for life from all eight Majors.” Kenya Police FC: Inside the revolving coaching door since 2021 Premier League promotion
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