NAIROBI, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Olympic and triple men's 1,500m champion, Asbel Kiprop, departed Nairobi on Wednesday for London on the eve of the ruling of the doping case brought against him by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
Speaking ahead of his journey, Kiprop, who was accompanied by his lawyer Katwa Kigen, again maintained his innocence urging the AIU, the body formed by athletics world governing body IAAF to combat doping, to draw a line over his case that has dragged out since May 2018 when he was identified as the middle distance running superstar who tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO.
"I hope that this time there will be no further delay in delivering a verdict. My career has stalled for two years now and my reputation ruined. I hope the truth will prevail," Kiprop, who delivered Kenya the men's 1,500m world titles at Daegu 2011, Moscow 2013 and Beijing 2015, said ahead of the tribunal seating that is expected to rule on his case on Thursday.
British publication, Daily Mail delivered the bombshell expose that Kiprop A and B samples had tested positive for EPO on May 3, 2018 with the AIU confirming two days later in one of the most intriguing doping cases in the history of the body that was formed in April 2017.
Kiprop, in a statement through his lawyer Kigen, had responded to the shocking doping reports by sensationally accusing two Doping Control Officers (DCOs) who visited his home of asking him for money.
In a three-page statement Kiprop claimed that the two DCOs - Simon Karugu and Paul Scott, whom he was familiar with from past tests - came to his home in Iten on the morning of November 27, 2017 having notified him of their intended visit a day earlier.
"I remain perplexed on how my innocent sample could turn positive on the only time when money was extorted from me. It is not beyond my suspicion that my sample turned positive because I might have remitted less money than I was expected to remit," Kiprop said at the time.
