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The long-distance runner became the latest Kenyan athlete on the growing list of shame after having been found guilty of using banned substance testosterone
Singapore Marathon champion Esther Macharia is the latest to get into the list of shame after being handed a four-year doping ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) on Wednesday.
Machari has been suspended after being found to have used banned substance testosterone which offers unfair advantage to athletes by boosting their muscle mass and strength, endurance levels and faster recovery from injuries.
The athlete was nabbed after an in-competition test at the Singapore Marathon last December but she defended herself saying she suspected that “the Adverse Analytical Finding had been caused by her ingestion of (unspecified) medication to treat joint pain and (ii) she had not used that medication to improve her performance.”
“On March 1, 2023, the AIU asked the athlete to provide additional information concerning the medication referred to in her explanation and in relation to any supplements that she had used prior to the collection of the sample on December4, 2022 (including her proof of purchase of the medication in question),” the AIU said in its statement, while confirming the suspension.
“On March 7, 2023, the athlete replied indicating that she had been given a medication, specifically Sustanon2, by a friend since she had been experiencing pain in her leg whilst training. For this reason, the athlete confirmed that she had no proof of purchase evidence of the medication.
“Following a request made by the AIU on March 20, 2023 for the athlete to attend an interview in relation to her explanation for the Adverse Analytical Finding on March 24, 2023, on March 23, 2023, the athlete wrote to the AIU via a series of e-mail correspondence, confirming inter alia, that she did not know much about the individual who had provided her with the medication and that she was unable to attend an interview in person.”
Consequently, the athlete did not show up for a hearing or challenge the AIU’s finding, leaving the body with no choice but to slap her with the ban which starts in February this year. Macharia would have had her suspension reduced to three years had she admitted to the mistake given she is also a first offender.
“The athlete has failed to demonstrate that the Anti-Doping Rule Violations were not intentional. Therefore, the mandatory period of Ineligibility is a period of Ineligibility of four years,” the AIU added.
The drug is commonly used by unscrupulous athletes intent on masking the presence of other banned substances in their bloodstream.
Macharia clocked 2:45:08 to win the Singapore Marathon, having finished fourth at the Grandma’s Marathon in the United States in June 2022.
Her ban adds onto the growing list of Kenyan athletes who have been suspended over doping with the country struggling to tame the vice which has become rampant.
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