NAIROBI, March 28 (Xinhua) -- World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president Witold Banka has warned athletes against using the coronavirus pandemic to cheat the system.
Kenya is among the countries put under scrutiny as the most vulnerable and likely to have their athletes engage in cheating activities. Over 60 athletes have been suspended in Kenya in the last two years, with Albert Rop, the Asian 5,000m silver medalist who now competes for Bahrain, being the latest addition on Friday.
Now WADA is warning Africa and Kenyan athletes that despite the global pandemic from the coronavirus, they will still run their test to catch any offenders.
"Anti-doping never sleeps, that is my message to the athletes. We have the Athlete Biological Passport, long-term analysis, intelligence and investigations and others, which will be key tools in the coming weeks and months. This is not space for cheats and I can say to the athletes that we will do everything we can to protect clean athletes during this time," Banka said.
WADA said in September 2018 that 138 Kenyan athletes tested positive from 2004 to August 2018.
