Kenya launches campaign against doping to create awareness

Nairobi, Nov 1 (IANS)  Kenya's athletics officials are stepping up their fight against doping and have organised a campaign to sensitise athletes against the vice.

Athletics Kenya President Jack Tuwei said they will have top athletes leading an anti-doping campaign dubbed "Say No to Doping" in conjunction with Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK)

Among the top athletes expected will be Olympic 800 metre champion David Rudisha, former world champion Janeth Jepkosgei and Chicago Marathon silver medalist Abel Kirui.

"Kenya is under the watch list since 2016 and Athletics Kenya, being at the forefront of Kenya's international sporting events, has come up with activities that will help curb the doping menace in our sport," Tuwei said in Nairobi on Wednesday.

The campaign, which will be launched in Nyahururu and Kapsabet towns, which hold majority of athletes, will be amplified countrywide starting from January.

"We target to make these campaign an annual event which will be organized in all counties in Kenya. The campaign aims to emphasise to our athletes that true winners run clean," Tuwei said. 

Majority of Kenyan athletes may not be aware of the dos and don'ts of doping and Tuwei said this has forced them to launch the awareness campaign.

"Some of these athletes are very young and don't understand the complexity of doping and realize where they could be involved without knowing. We do not want to see someone getting into trouble assuming that they may know," he said.

Kenya was placed under WADA watch-list after failing to put up a National Anti-Doping Agency. That has since shifted with the country launching ADAK and after review WADA has declared Kenya compliant.