Former half marathon world record holder banned for seven years

Kenyan long-distance runner Kibiwott Kandie, a former half marathon world record holder, has been handed a seven-year ban for refusing to undergo a doping test and tampering with the doping control process.

According to Sport-Express, the sanction was announced by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), the independent body responsible for safeguarding integrity in athletics.

The ban will remain in effect until March 13, 2032. Kandie, 30, was provisionally suspended on March 14, 2025, under charges related to “evading, refusing, or failing to submit to sample collection.”

Kandie made headlines in 2020 when he set a world record in the half marathon in Valencia, clocking 57 minutes and 32 seconds.

His record stood until October 2024, when it was broken by Ethiopian runner Yomif Kejelcha. The current world record holder is Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda.