Ethiopian and Ugandan runners face doping
The Athletics Integrity Unit has banned Ethiopia's Tiruye Mesfin for three years and provisionally suspended Uganda's Harbert Kibet over separate doping
Ethiopian marathon runner Tiruye Mesfin has received a three-year ban for a doping violation. Uganda's rising talent Harbert Kibet is provisionally suspended pending an investigation. The Athletics Integrity Unit announced the sanctions on consecutive days.
Mesfin banned for biological passport violation
The AIU banned Mesfin for three years starting August 10, 2026. The 23-year-old violated anti-doping rules through abnormalities found in her Athlete Biological Passport. An expert panel reviewed four blood samples collected between August 2025 and June 2026.
The panel identified a pattern consistent with blood doping. The AIU stated the likelihood the passport resulted from doping outweighed the chance it was from a normal physiological condition. Mesfin admitted to using a prohibited substance, which reduced her ban from four years to three.
All her competitive results from June 25, 2025, are disqualified. This includes a third-place finish at the 2025 Shanghai Marathon. She was listed to start the Sydney Marathon but did not race.
Mesfin debuted in the marathon with a 2:18:47 in Valencia in 2022. She improved her personal best to 2:18:35 at the same race in 2024. She had not broken the 2:20 barrier since and had a quiet 2026 season prior to her suspension.
Kibet suspended after positive test
Harbert Kibet, 21, is provisionally suspended after a sample showed traces of triamcinolone acetonide and exogenous steroids. The AIU announced the suspension on September 3, 2026. The investigation is ongoing, and Kibet has been notified of the allegation. The date of the sample collection has not been disclosed.
Kibet will not face a formal ban unless the investigation confirms an anti-doping rule violation. He failed to reach the 5,000m final at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
He opened his 2026 season with a world-leading 26:39 for 10km at the Facsa Castellón race in Spain. That performance ranks fourth on the all-time list for the road distance.
The role of the biological passport
The Athlete Biological Passport is a tool designed to detect doping by tracking biological markers over time. Instead of searching for a specific substance in a single sample, it monitors an athlete's profile for abnormal changes that suggest blood manipulation or other doping methods.
This approach helps identify substances or methods that are difficult to detect directly or have a short detection window. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency used the ABP to ban American runner Jonah Koech for blood doping in August 2026.
The AIU published the decisions on its official social media account, linking to full press releases and detailed documents.
