(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)- Two Kenyans have failed pre-competition drugs tests at the world championships in Beijing and have been provisionally suspended the IAAF announced on Wednesday.
Koki Manunga and Joyce Zakary 'have accepted provisional suspensions following positive samples provided in Beijing on the 20th and 21st of August respectively' the IAAF said in a statement. Track and field's world governing body said the Kenyan pair had been tested at the athletes' hotel before their competition started as part of 'targeted tests'. Zakary clocked a national record of 50.71 seconds in Monday's first round of the women's 400m at the Bird's Nest but did not start the semifinal on Tuesday for which she had qualified. African silver medallist Manunga however failed to make it out of her first round of the 400m hurdles on Sunday timing 58.96sec to finish 35th out of 37 athletes competing. "It's a shame for them" said Kenyan teammate Julius Yego who won gold in the men's javelin with a monster third round effort of 92.72 metres the longest in 14 years. "In sport you win clean so it's a shame for them. I can't make any more comment on that." Hyvin Kiyeng Jepkemoi who pipped hot Tunisian favourite Habiba Ghribi for the women's 3000m steeplechase title shortly after Yego's heroics expressed her disappointment at the doping tests. "I think that's an individual thing it's not everybody" Jepkemoi said. "I'm totally shocked. "I know I'm clean but I'm not happy about it." Athletics Kenya the nation's governing body confirmed that it had been "informed by the IAAF of the positive tests returned by two of its athletes Koki Manunga and Joyce Zakary". "Athletics Kenya has already met with the IAAF and the athletes involved and has begun investigating the situation which led to these results and appropriate follow-up action will be taken in Kenya" track and field's governing body in the east African running powerhouse added in a statement. "In the meantime Athletics Kenya will provide full support and cooperation to the IAAF during the results management process." Kenya was rocked this year when marathon star Rita Jeptoo was banned for two years after being caught doping with the banned blood-boosting hormone EPO. Jeptoo is the biggest name in Kenyan sports ever to have been caught and the bust has been a major trauma for a country that idolises its medal-winning and record-breaking runners. Top Kenyan athletes earlier this month called for the national governing body the IAAF and the world's anti-doping body Wada to take action over reports of widespread doping. Leaked results cited by German broadcaster ARD and the Sunday Times claimed that more than 800 athletes including 18 Kenyans had "suspicious blood test results" between 2001 and 2012. ARD alleged doping was ongoing in Kenya and claimed there was 'massive corruption' within the Kenyan set-up and 'a desire to cover-up doping... to the summit of the Kenyan athletics federation'. Athletics Kenya said it had 'watched with grave concern the German TV ARD documentary' calling the broadcast which coincided with the national trials for the world championships in Beijing 'extremely suspect and ill motivated'.
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