Peres Jepchirchir, the reigning world marathon champion and a former Olympic champion, has received a provisional suspension after an out-of-competition sample returned an EPO finding. The sample was collected in Kenya before her Sydney Marathon victory on 30 August. The Athletics Integrity Unit’s action is provisional; a final period of ineligibility has not been announced. Jepchirchir won the world title in Tokyo last year and has also won the London, Boston and New York marathons.
Peres Jepchirchir, Kenya’s world and Olympic marathon champion, has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit, the body overseeing disciplinary integrity in athletics. An out-of-competition sample returned an adverse analytical finding for EPO. The measure announced on 23 October is provisional; no final period of ineligibility was given.[1], [2]
The sample was collected in Kenya before Jepchirchir won the Sydney Marathon in Australia on 30 August. World Athletics’ results place her first in two hours, eighteen minutes and thirty-one seconds. Irine Cheptai of Kenya finished second in two hours, twenty-two minutes and eleven seconds, while Ethiopia’s Shure Demise was third in two hours, twenty-two minutes and thirty-three seconds. The sample came from a test outside competition, rather than one taken during the Sydney race.[1]
Jepchirchir, 33, won Olympic marathon gold in Tokyo and returned to the city to win the 2025 world title. Her career also includes victories in New York, Boston and London. EPO stimulates production of red blood cells, which carry oxygen to muscles; externally administered EPO can increase their concentration in the blood.[1]
