10K world record-holder Rhonex Kipruto of Kenya suspended for suspected doping

Kenyan distance runner Rhonex Kipruto, the 10-kilometer road running world record-holder, has been suspended for suspected doping, the Athletics Integrity Unit said Wednesday.

Kipruto, who also won a bronze medal in the 10,000-meter race at the 2019 world championships, has been notified of a charge relating to irregularities in his athlete biological passport, the AIU said.

The biological passport can detect possible irregularities in blood values assessed over time without an athlete testing positive for a banned substance. The 23-year-old Kipruto was suspected of using a banned substance or method, the AIU said.

Kipruto’s management company said the AIU informed Kipruto that the alleged irregularities in his biological passport dated back to late 2018, before he won bronze at the worlds and set the 10K road record. Ikaika Sports said Kipruto denied doping and the case had been “under scrutiny for some time now.”

Kipruto was only 19 when he finished