Kenyan marathoner Roncer Kipkorir Konga has been suspended for three years after testing positive for testosterone, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced on Monday.
The sanction, effective from June 16, 2025, nullifies all of Konga’s results since December 29, 2024, including the forfeiture of titles, medals, prize money, and appearance fees.
The AIU said Konga’s urine sample, collected out-of-competition in Iten on December 29, 2024, was initially reported negative by a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) laboratory in Lausanne.
However, a subsequent re-analysis confirmed the presence of testosterone and its metabolites “consistent with exogenous origin.”
“The Athlete did not have a Therapeutic Use Exemption that had been granted (or that would be granted) for the exogenous Testosterone and its Metabolites found in the Sample,” the AIU ruling stated.
Konga denied knowingly taking the banned substance, telling investigators he had only consumed a traditional herbal medicine prepared by his mother and a supplement called TestoXT Booster before Christmas. He added: “I just used those two before Christmas, and I didn’t use any injections.”
But AIU experts ruled the substances were unlikely to explain the positive result.
Konga, who waived his right to a disciplinary tribunal, received a one-year reduction on the standard four-year ban for his early admission and acceptance of the sanction. This is his first doping offence.
The case highlights Kenya’s ongoing battle with doping, which has seen several top athletes, including world record holder Ruth Chepng’etich and half-marathoner Judy Jelagat Kemboi, recently suspended.
The AIU, created by World Athletics to oversee integrity in the sport, said the decision reinforces the need for strict compliance with anti-doping regulations.
Konga, the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya, or WADA may still appeal the sanction at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.