Diacore Gaborone Marathon silver medalist, Gladys Jepchirchir Cheruiyot has tested positive to a banned substance. Now that she has been disqualified, Abigael Jerop moves to position two while Gladys Kerubo Otero is now number three.
According to a letter that Cheruiyot was served with, a urine sample was collected from her during in-competition. “Your A and B samples were transported to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The lab analysed both samples and found banned substances. You do not have an applicable therapeutic use exemption to justify the presence of the Prednisone in your system. There is no apparent departure from the international standard for testing and investigations or from international standards for laboratories that caused AAF,” reads a letter written by the National Anti-Doping Coordinator, Fredrick Seno.
Seno stated that it is apparent that the AAF was caused by an ingestion of Prednisone through an authorized route. Cheruiyot was notified that the following AAF Glucocorticoids/Prednisone and its metabolite prednisolne. Cheruiyot has been provisionally suspended from participating in any competition or activity prior to the final decision reached at a hearing of the matter.
The suspension starts from September 19, 2023. Diacore Gaborone Marathon manager, Tshepiso Baipidi told Sport Monitor that they do not support doping and they continue to follow all processes and procedures laid by the National Anti-Doping office. “We do hope that this incident does not become a trend and that in the next edition we will not have another case,” she said. Baipidi said they trust that all elite runners are aware of anti-doping rules including banned substances. In another case, Sua Flamingoes player, Kaone Van Der Westhuizen has tested positive to a banned substance. However, the club management claimed that they were not aware of the results.
The club chairperson, Tirelo Thebe said he could not discuss health related issues with the media. Muhammed Aboo Dada of Motorsport tested positive to anabolic androgenic steroid: Oxandrolone
