Athletics-Kenyan sprinter Otieno positively tests the banned substance

TOKYO, July 31 (Reuters) – Kenyan 100-meter sprinter Mark Otieno has received a positive test for a banned substance, the Kenyan team said in a statement and will not participate in Saturday’s Olympics.

“We have received a message this afternoon from the International Testing Agency (ITA) about one of our sprinters who has had a detrimental analytical finding on a urine sample he provided on July 28, 2021,” said Waithaka Kioni, head of the Kenyan team delegation.

“He has been temporarily suspended from attending his event today. Sprinter is fully aware of this communication and will receive a letter from the ITA.”

A Kenyan team spokesman asked if he could confirm that the sprinter in question was Mark Otieno. “Yeah”.

“However, he has denied knowing about the violation and later asked for a re-analysis of the B urine sample,” Kioni said.

The ITA said in a statement that the sample was collected under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Testing Authority during an out-of-competition doping test on 28 July in Tokyo.

“The athlete has challenged the suspension order and the case has been referred to the Sports Anti-Doping Division Arbitration Court,” the ITA said.

Otieno, with a personal record of 10.05 seconds, finished second in the national test last month.

He told Reuters this month that he expects a changing perception of Kenya at a distance of 100 meters, where the people of East Africa, one of the world’s most successful countries in long-distance running events, have not enjoyed much success.

Otieno’s withdrawal left Ferdinand Omanyala as Kenya’s only participant in the 100-meter men’s race. Read more

He served a 14-month doping ban imposed by the Kenya Anti-Doping Agency in 2017.

Report by Omar Mohammed in Tokyo; Sudipto Ganguly Additional Reporting; Editing: Hugh Lawson and Ed Osmond

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