In December 2019 the Athletics Integriyt Unit (AIU) for World Athletics has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Kenyan Athlete James Kibet after his sample tested positive for the prohibited substances 19-norandrosterone and 19-noretiocholanolone (Nandrolone).
After notification a provisional suspension was ordered. The Athlete filed a statement with evidence in his defence and he was heard for the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal.
The Athlete admitted the violation and denied the intentional use of the substance. He assumed that the positive test was the result of his use of pork fat, a substance traditionally used and ingested in the Athlete’s home town country as a “medicine”. He also ingested pork fat syrup three times a day at the time of the doping control. He stated that he had purchased the pork fat and/or other products he had used and ingested from a local market in Eldoret Town, Kenya.
After conducting a research regarding pigs and pork products he filed a video recording in which an apparent farmer provided explantions regarding pig farming, and cites an scientific article in this matter.
The AIU contended that the Athlete failed to establish that the anti-doping rule violation was not intentional nor established grounds for a reduced sanction. The AIU had provided contact information of a food safety research laboratory in Germany that could analyse the Athlete’s pork fat in question.
The Sole Arbitrator finds that the presence of a prohibited substance has been established in the Athlete’s sample and accordingly the he had committed an anti-doping rule violation.
Considering the evidence the Athlete had produced the Sole Arbitrator concludes that the Athlete had not provided evidence that he had purchased the pork fat and/or other products from the local market in Eldoret Town, Kenya.
The Arbitrator further considers that there was no evidence that the pork fat the Athlete allegedly had consumed contained Nandrolone as source of the positive test. He missed the opportunity to analyse the pork fat in question, he provided a video recording but he failed to produce the scientific article itself he cited.
Therefore the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal decides on 29 January 2021 to impose a 4 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 4 December 2019.
