Athletics Kenya (AK) Director of Youth Development, who is also the Vice President of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK), Barnaba Korir, has vowed to fight the war against doping and reduce the number of athletes from his federation appearing on the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) list.
Speaking exclusively to Radio Generation on Saturday in Mombasa, Korir was quick to remind critics that Kenya has over 11,000 registered athletes, so having about 26 of them among the 27 suspended athletes is relatively low compared to the total number of registered athletes.
"Kenya is the home of athletics. We have more than 11,000 athletes registered with AK, a huge number that demonstrates Athletics Kenya’s global prowess compared to many other countries," Korir told Radio Generation.
"Many countries have fewer than 100 registered athletes, yet can have one or two shining on the global stage. Surely, such countries—no matter how good or bad—cannot be compared with Kenya," he added.
A report from ADAK indicates that in 2024–2025, Kenya recorded 146 cases of Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs), with 87.6% of these cases coming from athletics. These cases are all domestic, arising from athletes within Kenya, as compared to other sports in the country.
Currently, ADAK has listed 27 sportsmen and women under suspension. Only one footballer, Harambee Stars defender Rooney Onyango, is the odd one out, while the rest are from the athletics department.
Despite these developments, AK Director of Youth Development Barnaba Korir remains unfazed. He insists that he will continue the fight through education and promises to eliminate the vice completely in the coming years.
