Kenyan Sprinter Mark Otieno Breaks Silence on Why He Failed His Doping Test in 2021

• Mark Otieno, Kenya’s 100m sprinter, was banned in August 2021 for allegedly being in contact with banned substances
• Otieno was due to represent the country at the Tokyo games but the ban meant automatic disqualification for him
• He has always maintained his innocence and on Thursday, March 17, he revealed the real reason his drug test came back positive

Former Kenyan 100m record holder Mark Otieno Odhiambo has spoken for the first time in detail on his plight after he received a costly ban for doping.

In August 2021, the Athletics Integrity Unit began disciplinary proceedings against him after he failed a doping test at the Tokyo Olympics.

At the time, Otieno was one of three other athletes who will face disciplinary action after they tested positive for illegal substances at the summer games.

Otieno did not take part in the Olympics after his urine sample allegedly came back positive for an anabolic androgenic steroid.

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The move was a huge blow for the sprinter, who was tipped to be one of the shining stars for Kenya at the Tokyo games.

On July 31 2021, he released a statement denying any wrong doing, but the damage was already done.

“Contaminated supplement”

Through his social media pages on Thursday, March 18, Otieno released a more detailed account on why he was banned.

According to the sprinter, the test results came back positive for banned substances because of a contaminated nutritional supplement.

"A couple of months ago, I received results from a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited lab confirming my suspicions one of the nutritional supplement that I had been using was contaminated with an undisclosed banned substance," Otieno’s statement read.

The test in question was carried out in July 28 2021, when Otieno was at the Olympic village in Tokyo.

"This result proves beyond doubt that I did not dope, as I have insisted from the beginning. I have today made that information public," he went on.

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The sprinter went on to shed details of his struggles over the past few months because of the ban, which has had adverse effects on his reputation as an athlete.

He also revealed he was trying to reach out to President Uhuru Kenyatta in a bid to stop any more false accusations of athletes.