Former world 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop has marked the five months as the determining factor as he plots a comeback on track after serving a four-year ban for doping.
32-year-old Kiprop was banned for four years on February 3, 2018, by the Athletics Integrity Unit's (AIU) panel after he tested positive for performance enhancing drug erythropoietin EPO, and has marked 5 months to go for his return to the sporting world.
Kiprop had seen the need to remind AIU that it’s important for him to be subjected to testing for compliance and transparency. He also argued that he should be considered "innocent" after serving the full length of his ban.
He stated that despite his transparency, he has experienced challenges with the login in his Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) account.
“I have seen the need to remind AIU that it’s important that I be subjected to testing for compliance & transparency. The Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya is in support of seeing that I gain access to my ADAMS whereabouts despite log-in challenges,” stated Kiprop on his Facebook page.
Kiprop was declared the Olympic champion of the 1500m at the Beijing 2008 games after the original winner Rashid Ramzi tested positive for a banned substance upon retesting of a drug sample.
Kiprop, however, through his lawyers insisted that his positive test results were flawed.
He stated that the EPO found in his body was natural, citing that he trains at high altitudes and that he was on medication at the time of testing.
Their defenses, however, were turned down by the Athletics Integrity Unit.
"I have been insisting that I did not dope," he added. "I will continue to maintain my innocence, even if this decision now means I will not be eligible to run again for the next four years," stated Kiprop.
If all goes as planned, Kiprop is expected to participate in the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, scheduled to be held in July 2022 in Eugene, Oregon, United States.