OLYMPIC champion Asbel Kiprop claims he paid drug testers because he “thought they wanted the money for fuel or tea”.
Kiprop, who won 1500m gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and also has three world titles, tested positive for the blood boosting drug EPO after an out-of-competition test in Iten, Kenya in November 2017.
He claims he was tipped off by a doping control officer about the drugs test the night before and his sample “turned positive” because he did not give the testers enough money.
The 28-year-old Kenyan has also revealed he would ALWAYS be forewarned he was going to be tested, which is against anti-doping rules and was often asked by testers to go to THEIR houses to give samples.
He said: “It is rare for them to ask for money. They didn’t specify the amount. To me, I could trust them. It didn’t even come into my mind that I was in a sensitive position.”
After supplying his sample, he claims he left it unattended with the testers while he went to his bedroom to get his mobile phone, through which he paid them via electronic transfer.
He said: “The minute I went into my room to send them the money, probably something happened there on the table to my urine sample.”
Kiprop was upgraded to Olympic gold after Bahrain’s Rashid Ramzi failed a drugs test.
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Last month British distance star Mo Farah questioned Kiprop’s storming run to beat him over 1500m three years ago.
Kiprop ran the fourth fastest time in history in Monaco in 2015 – clocking 3:27.72 as Farah had to settle for second place in 3:28.81 despite breaking Steve Cram’s 28 year-old British record.
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Farah, who won four Olympic titles and six world crowns, said: “I finished behind him in Monaco. When you look back… I hope he wasn’t taking anything then. You question it don’t you?
“It’s so disappointing to see someone who has the calibre of medals to be in the news for that reason. It’s not what the sport needs but at the same time the authorities have to deal with it. It’s not acceptable.”
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