World record holder, then an Olympian at the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games, and then the winner of the New York City half-marathon. Rhonex Kipruto was doing it all, and he was doing it well, but it all came crashing down as it unravelled and continues to do so, weighed down by a six-year doping ban. Even after the Court of Arbitration for Sport delivered its verdict, the 26-year-old isn’t backing down, taking an unexpected path to fight his way back.
The CAS released its decision after a long two-year case, and in light of that decision, Kipruto and his team responded to the ruling by releasing his entire CAS defense via a Google Doc. It marked the first time that an athlete had done so, as track and field journalist Jonathan Gault posted it on X. The document included a statement from the 26-year-old’s team, along with links to expert testimony and a PowerPoint presentation.
“In light of the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the matter 2024/A/10704 Rhonex Kipruto v. World Athletics, we are publishing materials that were submitted in the proceedings: (i) two expert statements by Stephen J. Brandt, M.D. (Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center); as well as (ii) Professor Brandt’s hearing presentation (Lausanne, Switzerland, November 2025),” read the document.
Rhonex Kipruto is a long-distance runner who was considered to be one of the best in the discipline before his ban. The then-24-year-old was at his peak before the ban, winning numerous titles and medals and setting the 10km road race world record. However, in May 2023, authorities provisionally suspended him for irregularities found in his Athlete Biological Passport.
They later changed that to a six-year ban in June 2024 and stripped him of his world record and his 10,000m bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships. Not only that, but all his race results from September 2018 were disqualified and removed from the records. Kipruto, however, immediately filed an appeal with CAS in 2024 and has been fighting the case there.
This is Kipruto’s team’s response to the ruling.
Can’t ever remember an athlete making his entire CAS defense public, as Kipruto has here. And Kipruto’s agent Davor Savija said he will repay 75% of his commission on Kipruto’s prize/appearance $ to races.https://t.co/8aiav4wLH4 https://t.co/GvgrogH4DK
— Jonathan Gault (@jgault13) April 16, 2026
As per the document released by his team, they allege that the Kenyan long-distance runner suffers from a genetic condition that causes the EPO readings. They further hit out at the AIU and World Athletics, as well as the CAS panel, for not doing further testing and looking into the matter more, as Rhonex Kipruto’s team, including his lawyer Jan Krabec and Davor Savija, believed that his case could be a larger issue with the ABP (Athlete Biological Passport).
And Rhonex Kipruto has continued to maintain his innocence, pushing back strongly against the allegations and the verdict that derailed his career, expressing both frustration and disbelief at how the case has unfolded.
“I didn’t cheat or dope! I am hurt that the truth hasn’t come out, and I am at the same time devastated by the prosecution and by the inflexibility of the anti-doping system, which I have always respected and supported as a clean athlete,” Kipruto said in the document released by his camp.
Yet despite his emotional words, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the AIU’s ban, although they did reduce it to five years instead of six.
CAS upholds Rhonex Kipruto’s ban but reduces it to five years
That came after a long fight, following Rhonex Kipruto’s initial six-year ban imposed by the AIU’s disciplinary tribunal on May 28, 2024. That included four years for his offense as well as two years for aggravating circumstances, including multiple instances of blood doping as well as the AIU’s belief that Kipruto engaged in an elaborate regime to help him win races. However, as per the AIU’s statement, officials found no banned or illegal substances in the Kenyan’s system, and the case relied only on data from his ABP.
And immediately after being handed his six-year ban, Kipruto appealed the decision to the CAS in June 2024, and a hearing was held for the same in November 2025. However, after reviewing the long-distance runner’s defense as well as the AIU’s case, the CAS determined that Kipruto’s changed ABP was the result of blood manipulation, which is a doping offense.
Not only that, but they also didn’t find any grounds that Rhonex Kipruto suffered from the genetic medical condition that he claimed he did and ruled that he had violated anti-doping measures. However, the CAS confirmed that it had reduced his ban from six years to five.
“The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has partially upheld an appeal by long-distance runner Rhonex Kipruto (Kenya) against World Athletics (WA). Mr Kipruto’s period of ineligibility following an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) has been reduced from six years to five years,” reads the statement.
That came after the panel revisited the length of Rhonex Kipruto’s ban, particularly the additional time imposed beyond the standard ban, opting to scale it back while still upholding the core of the punishment.
“The Panel also reviewed the six-year period of ineligibility that was imposed, made up of four years for an intentional ADRV plus two years for aggravating circumstances,” the statement further read.
“The aggravating circumstances submitted by World Athletics included several instances of blood doping, and the athlete engaged in a deliberate and sophisticated doping regime. The Panel determined that, bearing in mind the principle of proportionality, the aggravating circumstances warrant an additional period of ineligibility of one year instead of two.”
This change reduces Rhonex Kipruto’s ban from 2029, making him eligible to compete again in May 2028, just ahead of the LA 2028 Olympics, which kicks off in July 2028.
