Olympic and world marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit after an out-of-competition sample tested positive for EPO, the AIU announced.
The 33-year-old Kenyan provided the sample in Kenya before winning the Sydney Marathon on 30 August 2026. She clocked 2:18:31 to win the race by more than three minutes from compatriot Irene Chepet Cheptai. Sydney became the seventh world major in 2025.
EPO, or erythropoietin, is a natural substance produced in the kidneys that stimulates the creation of new red blood cells. When injected, it is detectable in urine or blood only for a short window and increases oxygen-carrying red blood cells.
Jepchirchir won the Olympic women’s marathon at Tokyo 2020 and returned to the Japanese capital to take the world title in September 2025. She set the women’s half-marathon world record in 2017 and broke it three times in 2020. Her other major victories include New York in 2021, Boston in 2022 and London in 2024.
The provisional suspension means she cannot compete while the case proceeds.
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