With Kenyan athletes preparing for world championships in Doha Qatar next month, Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) has no doubt that those athletes who will be competing will be clean free from the doping menace that has cropped into the country.
With the red flag hanging on the country’s top sport- track and field, ADAK has come out saying the doping tests and education given to athletes is enough for them to meet the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) requirements.
In an anti-doping awareness seminar for track and field athletes in Eldoret, ADAK’s Agnes Mandu said that ADAK is working with Athletics Kenya in the area of probable for the world championships.
She said that as ADAK is working closely with Athletics Kenya to meet the AIU requirements before world championships.
“AIU has given us some required that athletes that before athletes compete they must be educated on the topics relevant to them. We are here to fulfil the requirements by AIU to Athletics Kenya because it is the mandate of ADAK to educate athletes. We are working as a team with as they are able to bring together the athletes so that we can talk to them. Us we are fulfilling our duty to educate as per the requirements,” said Mandu.
On Wednesday, Mandu said they met 40 adding on 40 they trained in Nairobi, they have surpassed the target of 72 probable athletes ahead of world championships.
“We cover standard topics as per the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code. The athletes’ whereabouts is a topic that AIU has put much emphasis on testing. We have those athletes who are not on the whereabouts especially the young ones where the counting and testing is not on the probable’s but counting sessions that we have had in the past. But AIU has given us a leeway that any sessions we have had with the athlete can count ahead of the championships,” added Mandu
She said that their outreach is mainly done at their various championships and, setting up their tents where they educate athletes as they had sessions with athletes at the national trials.
As we speak we have already covered what is needed to be covered. For those who lack whereabouts, it is meant for testing, we will get them during the national trials and even those who will be in the camp,” added Mandu.