Khalidoun
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 12, 2013
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A Kenya athletics team coach has been sent home from the Rio Olympics after he posed as an athlete and gave a urine sample in a doping test.
Retired sprinter John Anzrah was caught out by doping control officers, who spotted a mismatch between his face and the badge of the athlete he was attempting to impersonate.
Kip Keino, a Kenyan running great and chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK), then announced the decision to send him home.
He said: "We have sent Anzrah back home. He presented himself as an athlete, gave the urine sample and even signed the documents. We cannot tolerate such behaviour."
We don't even know how he came here because we (NOCK) did not facilitate his travel here."
It was not clear which athlete Anzrah was pretending to be.
But one senior source at Kenya's running federation, Athletics Kenya (AK), said he had spoken to the concerned athlete who claims Anzrah used his accreditation purely to obtain free meals from athletes' village.
"When the anti doping officials met him, they assumed he was the athlete and that he was lined up for testing," the Athletics Kenya source told Reuters.
"The coach, for fear of being exposed or discovered, did not explain to the anti-doping guy that he is actually not the athlete. Hence he played along and went for the test," added the AK source.
Last week, Kenya sent their track and field manager Michael Rotich home from the Games following allegations that he requested money to let undercover journalists, posing as athlete representatives, know when drugs testers would come calling. Rotich has denied the accusations.
Retired sprinter John Anzrah was caught out by doping control officers, who spotted a mismatch between his face and the badge of the athlete he was attempting to impersonate.
Kip Keino, a Kenyan running great and chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK), then announced the decision to send him home.
He said: "We have sent Anzrah back home. He presented himself as an athlete, gave the urine sample and even signed the documents. We cannot tolerate such behaviour."
We don't even know how he came here because we (NOCK) did not facilitate his travel here."
It was not clear which athlete Anzrah was pretending to be.
But one senior source at Kenya's running federation, Athletics Kenya (AK), said he had spoken to the concerned athlete who claims Anzrah used his accreditation purely to obtain free meals from athletes' village.
"When the anti doping officials met him, they assumed he was the athlete and that he was lined up for testing," the Athletics Kenya source told Reuters.
"The coach, for fear of being exposed or discovered, did not explain to the anti-doping guy that he is actually not the athlete. Hence he played along and went for the test," added the AK source.
Last week, Kenya sent their track and field manager Michael Rotich home from the Games following allegations that he requested money to let undercover journalists, posing as athlete representatives, know when drugs testers would come calling. Rotich has denied the accusations.