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20 athletes have been stopped from participating in the Olympics. The reason: They have not lived up to the requirements of the athletics anti-doping organization Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
AIU is the independent body created by the World Athletics that manages all integrity issues (both doping and non-doping) for the sport of athletics.
Two Kenyans were replaced by Athletics Kenya prior to the submission of their entries to World Athletics.
1500m athlete Kamar Etiang and 400m hurder Moitalel Mpoke were dropped on July 15 for failing to take the required number of out-of-competition doping tests.
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Athletics Kenya (AK) President, Jackson Tuwei, gives a press conference on January 17, 2020 at the Riadha House, the AK's headquarters in Nairobi. - Athletics Kenya drafted a bill to the Ministry of Sports to be taken to parliament in order to criminalise doping among Kenyan athletes which is in line with an increased budgetary allocation to the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) to ensure that all athletes will be tested anytime, anywhere without notice and as many times as it can be done. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA / AFP) (Photo by TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images)
The tests have to be at least three weeks apart. Those rules are enforced on Kenya because the country is considered high risk by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after a large number of doping cases in recent years.
Following Etiang's dismissal, 1,500-meter world champion Timothy Cheruiyot was selected to replace the 18 year old.
Cheruiyot is now a strong contender for gold in the 1,500 in Tokyo after setting the world-leading time this year and winning back-to-back Diamond League titles in Stockholm and Monaco this month.
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DOHA, QATAR - OCTOBER 06: Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya celebrates winning gold in the Men's 1500 metres final during day ten of 17th IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 at Khalifa International Stadium on October 06, 2019 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images for IAAF)
He wasn't initially on the Kenya team after finishing fourth at the trials. Kenya last won an Olympic 1500m gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing when Asbel Kiprop was awarded the medal after Bahrain's Rashid Ramzi was disqualified for doping at the Games.
For the year 2021, the seven identified ‘Category A’ National Federations are: Belarus, Bahrain, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and Ukraine.
Nigeria is the most affected country, not meeting the minimum testing requirements under Rule 15 for 10 athletes.
Under the framework of Rule 15 governing National Federation Anti-Doping obligations, which came into force in January 2019, National Federations are accountable for ensuring appropriate anti-doping measures are in place in their respective jurisdictions.
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NAIROBI, KENYA - JULY 15: Moitalel Mpoke Naadokila of Kenya celebrates after winning the silver medal in the final of the mens 400m hurdles on day four of the IAAF U18 World Championships at the Kasarani Stadium on July 15, 2017 in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images for IAAF)
Among other things, the Rule sets out minimum requirements for testing on the national teams of ‘Category A’ federations deemed to have the highest doping risk and considered as a threat to the overall integrity of the sport.