NAIROBI, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has called for disgraced Kenyan Olympic marathon champion Jemimah Sumgong's doping ban to be increased from four to eight years.
The AIU is an independent arm of the IAAF and its mandate is to oversee doping related cases. The AIU wants the four-year ban increased after the athlete admitted to lying about her positive test.
The Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) suspended the 2016 London marathon champion after she tested positive for EPO. She will be eligible to return to competition in 2021.
But should the AIU's new recommendation be heeded, Sumgong may never compete again as she will be required to return to action in 2025 aged 41. The Integrity Unit is accusing Sumgong of tampering with doping control protocol.
The AIU wants Sumgong to accept the second charge of lying about her anti-doping test results or to contest the new accusation before a sports disputes tribunal.
Speaking to journalists, Sumgong's coach Noah Talam said they received the letter from the AIU and had replied to it in confidence. He however said the AIU email was "faulty" and was not going through.
Sumgong was given up to June 18 to reply to the accusations.
In 2017, Sumgong failed to request a B-Sample test but instead responded to a notice from the IAAF claiming that she consulted an unnamed doctor in Kenya's referral facility, Kenyatta National Hospital, on February 23 after experiencing severe bleeding resulting from an ectopic pregnancy.
She was then given a blood transfusion in addition to other unknown medication, which she had not disclosed to Doping Control on February 28 last year. ADAK then indicated that her response and conduct when evaluated by the IAAF was deemed to constitute an anti-doping violation.
