Olympic marathon champion Jemima Sumgong tested positive for the blood booster ...

Olympic marathon champion Jemima Sumgong tested positive for the blood booster EPO in a surprise out-of-competition doping test in Kenya, the IAAF said Friday, the biggest blow yet to the credibility of the East African country's famed distance-running program. "The IAAF can confirm that an anti-doping rule violation case concerning Jemima Sumgong (Kenya) has commenced this week," the International Association of Athletics Federations said in a statement. Read more | Experts call for monitoring system as WADA report bares India’s doping problem

“The athlete tested positive for EPO following a no-notice test conducted by the IAAF in Kenya,” the sport’s ruling body added. “This was part of an enhanced IAAF out-of-competition testing programme dedicated to elite marathon runners which is supported by the Abbott World Marathon Majors group.”

If Sumgong’s B sample is confirmed as positive and she is subsequently banned it will be a massive blow for African distance powerhouse Kenya, where her Rio victory was greeted with near-delirium after such a long and inexplicable barren spell over the classic distance at the Olympics. World Marathon Majors general manager Tim Hadzima said the series was distressed to learn of reports that Sumgong had failed a doping test but that, “if true, they indicate that we are gaining ground in our long-standing fight against doping.”

Sumgong will now miss the London Marathon on April 23, the race’s chief executive said. London Marathon organizers announced Sumgong failed the test in February and wouldn't be allowed to defend her title this month while she was provisionally suspended. Read more | Olympic gold medallist Harper-Nelson banned after testing positive for doping

Sumgong’s former training partner, the 2014 Chicago and Boston Marathon champion Rita Jeptoo, is serving a four-year ban after also testing positive for EPO. But Kenya's Olympics were also undermined by a series of scandals involving coaches and officials, and its reputation has been seriously harmed by a spike in doping cases over the last five years.
In athletics, Jemima Sumgong, a Kenyan gold medallist in the women's marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics, tests positive for the banned substance EPO.