Feb 5, 2026 —— The athletics world was hit with major news today as the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) officially announced that Kenyan distance star and 2024 Paris Olympic 10,000m finalist Benard Kibet Koech has been handed a strict four-year ban after irregularities were detected in his Athlete Biological Passport (ABP).

This decision not only means the 26-year-old, in the prime of his career, will be away from competition for a long period, it also directly results in the annulment of his impressive fifth-place finish in the men's 10,000m at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The suspension is based primarily on Bernard Kibet’s Athlete Biological Passport (ABP). This is a countermeasure that indirectly detects signs of doping by monitoring an athlete’s biological markers (such as blood parameters) over time.

According to a detailed report released by the AIU, Kibet underwent as many as 23 doping tests over the past five years. However, the issues arose during the 2024 Kenyan Olympic trials and the subsequent Paris Olympics. The AIU found that several of Kibet’s samples from this critical period showed significant and abnormal increases in hemoglobin levels.

These abnormal data were then submitted to an expert panel for independent evaluation. After rigorous analysis, the panel unanimously concluded that the fluctuations in Kibet’s blood values could not be explained by normal physiological variation, indicating the athlete was very likely involved in blood doping (Blood Doping). Based on this conclusion, the AIU imposed the suspension on Kibet.

The AIU's sanction notice clearly states that Bernard Kibet has been banned for four years, with the start date officially set as June 10, 2025. Notably, because the violation was determined to have occurred around the Olympic period, all of his results from June 26, 2024 to June 10, 2025 have been annulled.

The ruling most directly strips him of his result in the men's 10,000m final at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In that highly anticipated showdown, Kibet ran an impressive 26:43.98 to finish fifth. He was narrowly behind Canada’s Moh Ahmed, finishing one place back. That result will now be removed from the official records, and any prize money, medals and points he earned during that period will be reclaimed.

Before being implicated in the doping scandal, Bernard Kibet was regarded as a cornerstone of Kenyan long-distance running. Up until his provisional suspension in June last year, he was ranked sixth in the world in the men's 10,000m.

Beyond his track success, Kibet also has an outstanding road-running résumé. He still holds the 10-mile (approximately 16.09 km) world record with an astonishing 44:02. His performances at major global events have been consistently strong, reaching the finals at two consecutive world-class competitions:

• 2023 Budapest World Championships: he finished fifth in the men's 10,000m.
• 2024 Paris Olympics: he again finished fifth.
  
  

However, with this suspension taking effect, the athlete who once ran shoulder-to-shoulder with the world's best now faces the darkest moment of his career.

Bernard Kibet's downfall has once again thrust Kenya's athletics doping crisis into the spotlight. As a global powerhouse in middle- and long-distance running, Kenya has in recent years been plagued by a string of doping scandals.

According to statistics, more than 150 Kenyan athletes already appear on the AIU's Global List of Ineligible Persons. This vast number is not only shocking but also reflects that authorities are steadily increasing efforts to crack down on doping violations.

Kibet, as yet another high-level athlete to fall, has once again sounded a warning to all competitors attempting to gain an unfair advantage through improper means.

The scrutiny is getting ever tighter.