Olympic and world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir suspended in doping case

Sport

Olympic and world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir suspended in doping case

2026-10-23 20:39 Last Updated At：20:40

Olympic and world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended over a positive drug test for the banned substance EPO, the Athletics Integrity Unit said Friday.

Jepchirchir won women's marathon gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the world title last year. The 33-year-old Kenyan runner is also a former world record holder in the half marathon.

The AIU, which investigates doping in track and field on behalf of the sport's governing body World Athletics, posted on X that “an out-of-competition sample, collected in Kenya prior to her recent Sydney Marathon victory, returned an adverse analytical finding for EPO.”

Jepchirchir won the Sydney Marathon in August. Her representative Gianni Demadonna declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press.

In most doping cases in international sports, athletes are provisionally suspended from competing until the case is either resolved with a verdict or dropped.

It's the latest in a long series of doping cases involving distance runners from Kenya, which was awarded the 2029 world track championships last month. It will be the first African country to host the event, but Kenya has long faced scrutiny over performance-enhancing drug use by its world-leading runners.

Women's marathon world record holder Ruth Chepng’etich, who is also from Kenya, was banned for three years in 2025 after admitting a charge related to a positive test for a banned diuretic. Former New York Marathon winner Albert Korir was given a five-year ban in March.

World Anti-Doping Agency president Witold Banka said this month Kenya needs a “more determined approach” to retain its credibility in sports.

“Kenya proudly calls itself the home of champions. But for that home to remain respected and credible, it must also be clean,” Banka said during a visit to the East African nation. “That is why Kenya needs a strong culture of clean sport, zero tolerance for doping, and a more determined approach to preventing and fighting doping.”

The suspension of Jepchirchir was announced a day after the AIU said it issued a six-year ban to Ruti Aga, a top marathon runner from Ethiopia. The AIU said Aga tested positive for a banned substance and then submitted a fake prescription for the substance from a clinic which turned out not to exist.

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French authorities deploy 70,000 officers for Saturday protests; Louvre and other museums closed

PARIS (AP) — Some 70,000 law enforcement officers will be deployed across France on Saturday while the Louvre and several other major Paris museums will be closed as authorities seek to prevent renewed violence during planned protests.

Protests last week devolved into mayhem, with people setting fires, storming public buildings, smashing shop windows, looting and clashing with police. It was France's most violent unrest in years.

Demonstrators plan to take to the streets again Saturday to denounce the high cost of living. Students, members of the CGT labor union and activists from the “ yellow vest ” movement, whose demonstrations against social injustice shook France in 2018 and 2019, are all set to join.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said some 70,000 police officers and gendarmes would be deployed, along with helicopters, armored vehicles and water cannons. In addition, elite police units will help secure public buildings like city halls in a “highly mobile” security operation, he said.

“There have been numerous calls from radical far-left groups on social media to commit acts of violence and vandalism. There have also been renewed calls for looting, with those messages clearly being spread by rioters," Nuñez said at a news conference.

“We will be absolutely uncompromising" with those involved in violence, he added, warning that police will have a “very firm approach to making arrests, and there will be legal consequences.”

In a statement to The Associated Press, the Culture Ministry said the Louvre, the Orsay and Picasso museums as well as the Grand Palais would be closed. The ministry called on all institutions under its authority to adopt any necessary measures to ensure “visitor safety, staff protection and the preservation of artworks,” according to the statement.

After two days when admission was by invitation only, Art Basel Paris opened to the public Friday — but only for the day, with the threat of unrest prompting organizers to cancel the weekend program. One of the world’s most prestigious contemporary art fairs, Art Basel includes exhibitions by 211 international galleries at Paris’ Grand Palais.

"This decision has not been taken lightly, and the safety of everyone involved in the fair remains our utmost priority," organizers said in a statement Thursday.

Saloni Doshi, an art collector who traveled to Paris from India for the fair, grew worried last Saturday as she saw the fires and panicked people, and she received phone calls from friends asking whether Paris was safe. She agreed with the organizers' rationale to close.

Antoine Donzeaud and Elisa Rigoulet, the owners of the gallery exo exo, felt the same.

“We understand this decision, which we consider reasonable and consistent with the urgency of the social demands currently unfolding in France,” they said in a text message.

Associated Press writers David Biller and Samuel Petrequin in Paris contributed to this report.