Olympic gold medalist Jemima Sumgong EPO positive

Kenya’s Olympic Marathon gold medalist Jemima Sumgong has tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO.

IAAF inspectors turned up unannounced in Kenya to carry out the out of competition test.

Rio Olympics marathon champion Jemima Sumgong (Kenya) fails drugs test, confirms IAAF https://t.co/4vcrCggApK pic.twitter.com/9GltlK6Oov

— India Today (@IndiaToday) April 7, 2017

“The IAAF can confirm that an anti-doping rule violation case concerning Jemima Sumgong (Kenya) has commenced this week,” the International Association of Athletics Federations said in a statement.

The analysis is part of an enhanced testing programme targeting elite marathon runners.

Jemima Sumgong, who became Kenya’s 1st female Olympic marathon champion last summer in Rio, tested positive for EPO: https://t.co/vWHW6GFSlr pic.twitter.com/8ToaQ9ll9q

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) April 7, 2017

The case will be seen by observers as evidence of how the IAAF is making progress in the region after previous official criticism of anti-doping regimes in Kenya and Ethiopia.