Kenyan marathoner Ronald Kipkoech Korir provisionally suspended by AIU in ABP case

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has provisionally suspended Kenyan marathoner Ronald Kipkoech Korir for "Use of a Prohibited Substance/Method (ABP case)", the Kenyan news site Eastleigh Voice reported on 13 October, quoting a statement the AIU posted on X. The Standard reported the same day that he had been provisionally suspended over allegations of using a prohibited substance.

A provisional suspension bars an athlete from competing while the case proceeds. Eastleigh Voice said it is not a final finding of an anti-doping violation. Neither report carried a comment from Korir.

ABP stands for Athlete Biological Passport. Eastleigh Voice described it as a record that tracks changes in an athlete's biological markers over time.

The AIU's list of provisional suspensions in force, last updated on 13 October, carries one entry for Korir: "Ronald Kipkoech Korir", nationality KEN, "Use of a Prohibited Substance/Method (Article 2.2) - ABP case", with the date 25/09/2026.

Korir finished fourth at the 2023 Berlin Marathon in 2:04:22, The Standard and Eastleigh Voice reported. Eastleigh Voice said the race was won by Eliud Kipchoge. World Athletics lists 2:04:22, set on 24 September 2023, as his marathon personal best. Eastleigh Voice added that he was fourth at the 2024 Hamburg Marathon.

Eastleigh Voice reported that more than 140 Kenyan athletes have been suspended or banned by the AIU since 2017. After a three-day visit to Nairobi, World Anti-Doping Agency president Witold Bańka said that for Kenya, which will host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, to remain respected and credible, "it must also be clean", the news channel Africanews reported on 8 October.

The Standard listed two recent AIU decisions against Kenyan runners. Kibiwott Kandie, a former half-marathon world record holder, was banned for seven years over two anti-doping violations, a decision the AIU announced on 25 June 2026. Philemon Kiplimo Kimaiyo accepted a two-year ban after failing to explain the presence of chlortalidone in a sample collected on 19 July. According to the AIU, his suspension began on 1 September 2026, The Standard reported.