Kenyan distance runner Albert Korir has admitted to doping, prompting officials on Monday to ban him for five years.
Long a fixture at the New York Marathon, Korir tested positive for a blood-boosting substance in three separate samples taken in October while he was training to run in the New York Marathon on Nov. 2. He finished third in the race.
A verdict issued by the Athletics Integrity Unit said that Korir’s results since October will be disqualified, including that third-place finish in New York.
The three positive results provide “clear evidence of the athlete’s use of a prohibited substance on multiple occasions which is expressly identified in the definition of aggravating circumstances,” the verdict stated.
The punishment was reduced by one year because Korir, 32, admitted to taking a banned substance without requesting a hearing. He is banned until January 2031.
Korir will keep his 2021 New York Marathon title. He also was runner-up in 2019 and 2023, and finished third in 2024 in addition to 2025. His other first-place finishes came in the 2019 Houston Marathon, the 2017 Vienna Street Race and the 2019 and 2025 Ottawa Race Weekend.
Korir tested positive for Continuous Erythropoietin Receptor Activator (CERA), a long-acting agent that stimulates red blood cell production much like the banned substance EPO. It is used legally to treat anemia associated with chronic kidney disease and typically is administered once every two to three weeks.
The World Anti-Doping Agency said in October that Kenya had made “significant” progress in tackling doping but the country remains on probation while it seeks to improve its monitoring.
The action by WADA occurred after Kenyan runner Ruth Chepngetich, the world marathon record holder, was banned for three years after admitting the use of Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), a banned diuretic used as a masking agent.
