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Bahrain has become one of the most attractive nations for Kenyan athletes to change nationalities to but runners intending to switch allegiance to the Asian nation will have to wait until 2027.
Kenyan athletes will not be able to change nationalities to Bahrain until 2027 after the Middle East nation was sanctioned over various World Athletics Anti-Doping Rule violations.
The World Athletics Council approved a series of corrective actions against the Bahrain Athletics Association (BAA) following historical breaches of World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules.
This decision comes after an 18-month investigation by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), which uncovered serious violations linked to doping practices within the BAA.
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12:54 - 22.08.2024
Winfred Yavi's Bahrain heavily sanctioned by World Athletics following multiple accounts of doping scandals
Bahrain have been heavily sanctioned by World Athletics over doping scandals which will heavily impact their athletes, including Kenyan-born Olympic champion Winfred Yavi.
The investigation was triggered by doping infractions involving two Bahraini athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where both were found guilty of homologous blood transfusions.
It was also discovered that the BAA had employed a coach between 2019 and 2021 who was banned from the sport for prior anti-doping violations.
The BAA was therefore found to have acted negligently and recklessly in relation to doping, thereby damaging the reputation of World Athletics and the sport as a whole.
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07:56 - 19.08.2024
Winfred Yavi meets the King of Bahrain after impressive show at Paris Olympic Games
Winfred Yavi was thrilled to meet the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, following her explosive campaign at the Paris Olympic Games.
They were also cited for failing to conduct proper due diligence when hiring athlete support personnel, which increased the risk of doping within the national team, and having admitted liability, the BAA has been handed seven heavy sanctions with one set to have implications that will be felt in Kenya.
The sanction in question is a transfer freeze for the next four years as the BAA will not be allowed to apply for transfers of allegiance or recruit any foreign athletes until 2027.
It means Kenyan athletes intending to switch nationalities to Bahrain will not be able to do so until 2027.
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06:00 - 22.08.2024
7 Kenyan-born athletes who flopped for their adopted countries at Paris Olympics
The Paris 2024 Olympics had a lot of exported athletics talent from Kenya representing other nations but how did they perform?
A number of Kenyan-born athletes, such as world and Olympics 3,000m steeplechase champion Winfred Yavi and 800m runner Nelly Jepkosgei, switched allegiance to Bahrain in recent years, the former doing it in 2016 while the latter in 2021 and there were others before them such as former world steeplechase champion Ruth Jebet.
Other sanctions include limiting Bahrain’s participation in the 2025 World Athletics Championships to 10 athletes, an investment of up to $7.3 million over the next four years in measures aimed at addressing doping and integrity issues and creating and funding a talent academy focused on nurturing local athletes to avoid the country’s heavy reliance on foreign-born talents.
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