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A Kenyan middle-distance runner received a 4-year ban from anti-doping authority, after locking himself in a toilet and sending a look-alike to carry out his drug test.
Olympic athlete Michael Saruni has been slammed with a 4-year ban for trying to deceive his country's anti-doping authority.
Saruni tried to use a look-alike to avoid a drug test, as revealed by the Kenyan Anti-Doping Agency (ADAK) on the extent of his deception.
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The 28-year-old middle-distance runner locked himself in a toilet when asked to provide a blood and urine sample, then proceeded to send a look-alike to give the sample on his behalf. He also tried to escape afterward by attempting to jump over a barred wall.
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This incident took place at the Kenyan trials for the world championships in Oregon and the Commonwealth Games in June 2022, where he competed in the 800m event. His behavior became extremely odd after he was pulled aside for a compulsory drug test at the Kasarani Stadium.
According to ADAK officials, Saruni was coughing repeatedly and asked to go to the toilet before doing his test. The anti-doping staff swapped over while keeping an eye on him, allowing him to switch places with a friend called Dennis Mwangi.
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He quickly switched his clothes with him and sent him to be tested. His elaborate attempt to get out of the test didn't fool the ADAK officials, as they quickly spotted they were not dealing with Saruni.
“I could hear someone in the stall coughing and flushing the toilet,” ADAK chaperone Anthony Kamau said in a statement. “I requested for the stall door to be opened. A male individual stepped out wearing the same outfit as the person I saw rushing to the toilets. I noticed, however, that the individual did not look like an athlete who had just finished a race and was also not coughing.”
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Another chaperone, Michael Omollo, added: “As I was going back to the toilet stalls, I saw someone switching from the first stall to the next door. I followed the individual and found a male behind the door. He was wearing a black hooded top and black trousers. I requested him to step out of the stall. I asked him to leave the washroom with me so that Karen [Wairimu – another ADAK employee] could identify the athlete known as Saruni.”
He added: “He was in front of me as we left the washroom. As we approached the DCS, he immediately started running and jumped over a grilled perimeter wall.”
Saruni ran away from the situation and later claimed at his hearing that he was never asked to provide a sample. He also said that ADAK officials had not used any official means to identify him and never asked for his identification.
With the ban, the former 600m indoor world record holder, who is based in the USA and reached the 800m semi-finals of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, will not run at the Paris Olympics and has now been ruled out from competing until August 2027.
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