Kenyan Marathon Champion Lawrence Cherono Banned for Doping

Kenyan marathon runner Lawrence Cherono, a former Boston and Chicago marathon winner, has received a seven-year ban for doping and attempting to use fake documents to justify his failed drug test. Cherono's ban is backdated to 2022, making it challenging for him to resume his career at the age of 35.

Kenyan marathon runner Lawrence Cherono, a former winner of the Boston and Chicago marathons, has been handed a seven-year ban for doping and trying to explain his failed drug test with fake documents.

Cherono tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine in 2022, leading to his suspension just before the world championships in Eugene, Oregon. Cherono's impressive career includes winning the Boston and Chicago marathons in 2019 and recording a personal-best time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 4 seconds in 2020, the 12th-fastest in history.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced that Cherono was banned for the original positive test and for tampering with the anti-doping process. He had claimed he was injected with an unknown substance for a stomach complaint and tried to blame envious training partners. He then provided purported clinic documents to support a false claim that his wife mistakenly gave him prescribed medication instead of painkillers. However, medical records from Kenya showed no evidence of his wife's alleged treatment.