2017 London Marathon winner doping ban confirmed

Daniel Wanjiru, winner of the 2017 London Marathon, was provisionally suspended in April but has now had his ban confirmed by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) until 8 December 2023.

Wanjiru’s agent is considering an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, claiming that “no prohibited substance has ever been found and we believe that Daniel is innocent.”

The AIU’s finding was that Wanjiru’s high levels of red blood cells had no “physiological explanation”. He was tested 16 times between April 2017 and 2019 but in his 14th test – on 9 March 2019 – he showed elevated levels of haemoglobin concentration which according to AIU “could not be explained by any other cause than blood manipulation” and that it was “highly likely” a banned substance or method had been used.