Kenyan athlete slapped with 9-month doping ban by IAAF for using rat poison substance
A Kenyan long distance runner has been slapped with a nine-month ban for taking a highly toxic pesticide meant to kill rodents.
Philip Kirwa was found guilty by the IAAF's Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) after samples of Strychnine were found in his blood.
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Kirwa, who ordinarily would have been slapped with a two-year ban for such a crime, admitted committing the offense, leading to a reduced ban by 15 months with AIU citing "ignorance".
“Following consultation with a scientific expert, the AIU is satisfied that the presence of Strychnine in the sample is consistent with the Athlete’s ingestion of the herbal medicine products ‘Arthritis Care’ and ‘Goodcare Arthplus’.
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The samples were collected during the 2018 Singapore Marathon.
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A quick online search shows Strychnine is a highly toxic crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents.
When inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the eyes or mouth, Strychnine can cause poisoning which results in muscular convulsions and eventually death through asphyxiation
Interestingly, the drug was believed to be beneficial in small doses as an athletic performance enhancer in the late 19th and 20th century
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In his defence, Kirwa admitted that he had been taking herbal medicine products including ‘Arthritis Care’ and ‘Goodcare Arthplus’ to treat arthritis in the build up to the Singapore event.
“He is not an experienced, educated athlete; and a search of the ingredients given on the product label of the herbal medicine (Sudh Kuchla/Strychnos nuxvomica) against the WADA 2018 Prohibited List would not have identified a prohibited substance.
“In light of the above, including the Athlete’s relative age, inexperience and that the prohibited substance did not expressly appear on the herbal medicine product labels, the AIU proposed to the Athlete on 17 May 2019 a period of ineligibility in this case of nine months,” the AIU said in a statement.
Kirwa’s results from December 9, 2018 to February 14, 2019 were nullified following the ban.
Story by Sasha Amor, TUKO Correspondent.
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