Norah Jeruto, world steeplechase champion, banned in biological passport case
Kazakhstan’s Norah Jeruto, the reigning world 3000m steeplechase champion, was provisionally suspended in a doping case involving her biological passport.
The Athletics Integrity Unit, which handles doping cases in track and field, announced last week that Jeruto was charged with the use of a prohibited substance or prohibited method related to her biological passport.
An athlete’s biological passport tracks their blood values over a long period to monitor for possible signs of doping, even if they never fail a drug test.
Provisional suspensions can be issued while awaiting a hearing on charges to determine an official punishment, if any.
Jeruto’s agent said that Jeruto denied doping after the AIU told Jeruto last August — after she won the world title — that she had hematocrit and hemoglobin levels in her biological passport that could only have been achieved by doping, according to LetsRun.com.
Jeruto, 27, won the world title last July by running the third-fastest women’s 3000m steeplechase time in history. Ethiopians Werkuha Getachew and Mekides Abebe finished second and third. Jeruto’s world title could be stripped if she is found to have doped.
She was also the world’s fastest steepler in 2021 but could not compete at the Tokyo Olympics while in the process of switching her nationality from Kenya to Kazakhstan. Before the switch, Jeruto was the world’s second-fastest steepler in 2018 and fourth-fastest in 2019.
Jeruto had to wait three years since she last represented Kenya to be able to compete for Kazakhstan. She continued training in Kenya en route to becoming the first Kazakh to win a world outdoor track and field title.
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Norah Jeruto, world steeplechase champion, banned in biological passport case originally appeared on NBCSports.com
