Athletics Kenya has opened an investigation into the allegations that Kenyan athletes dope in open following an expose that some syringes were found in training areas in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet county.
In a press release, the federation said that they have noted with concern the images of syringes purported to have been taken in Iten and which have gone viral on social media Worldwide.
They said the images posted by a Norwegian journalist, are meant to portray Kenya in a bad light and reverse the gains in the fight against doping.
“We do not condone doping and work closely with various teams; we do not condone unsubstantiated reports meant to cause confusion and panic within the athlete’s circles. We welcome investigative pieces from wherever part of the world but only when they are backed with facts,” read the statement.
As a federation, they said that the picture that is doing rounds on social media leaves a lot to be desired including proof of their actual location taken in Iten.
“We do not believe that doping in Kenya has reached a level where athletes do it in open fields. We are sorry to say that similar pictures of syringes left in dustbins have been circulated in the past only to turn out that they were stage managed. We also know that some foreign media houses have always had doping pieces to coincide with major world events but since most of them have been postponed, we are now seeing this kind of exposes.”
However they tore the report saying that for the last few years, they have put up with this kind of reports, which have turned out to be mere claims. There are channels through which doping procedures are carried out and it is important we stick to the same to avoid any suspicions.
“At AK we have nothing to hide as far as doping is concerned and we are open to discussions with whoever wants to carry out investigations however, we cannot go engaging in witch hunt in a bid to achieve our own selfish agendas. We also encourage anybody with any information concerning doping to officially report to the concerned authorities. For this we ask the journalist to come and identify the place where this incident took place and the persons involved.”