Noah Kibet and his management team quickly pushed back at false reports that he was among several Kenyan athletes recently suspended by the country’s anti-doping agency, which released its notice of sanctions on Thursday.
In a message posted on social media, Elite Running Team said that several media outlets caused “unacceptable and irreparable damage” to Kibet after the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya notice listed his name, which actually referred to Cherokony Noah Kibet, a distance runner.
Cherokony Noah Kibet was charged with the presence of a prohibited substance, glucocorticoids-triamcinolone acetonide, which can be used as a performance-enhancing or pain-masking agent.
Noah Kibet, 22, is a world silver medalist in the 800m for Kenya, who finished second at the indoor championships in Belgrade in 2022.
“A case of mistaken identity by Anti-Doping Agency Kenya (ADAK) led to false accusations against World 800m indoor silver medalist Noah Kibet,” Elite Running Team said in a statement shared on social media. “Multiple media outlets rushed to share this misinformation across their platforms without verification, causing unacceptable and irreparable damage to an honest, clean athlete. We extend our sincere thanks to Athletics Kenya for identifying this error, and we commend their excellent work and unwavering commitment to the fight against doping.”
ADAK’s provisionally suspended athletes section of its website also listed Mercy Okech for a doping rule violation, and within minutes of the notice, several media outlets in the sport reported that Noah Kibet was also sanctioned without verifying the claim or referencing documents relating to an investigation or appeal relating to the ban.
In the posts from the media outlets, comments quickly made reference to recent confirmed Kenyan doping cases, while others pointed out that Noah Kibet did not test positive for any substance and was not provisionally suspended.
Meanwhile, Noah Kibet defended himself against false allegations in his own comment on Elite Running Team’s post and reiterated that he was looking ahead to the upcoming season.
“I believe in clean sport, fair competition and justice,” he said. “My journey is built on hard work, discipline and integrity. Thank you to my management for standing strong with me. My conscience is clear, and my focus remains on the track.”
But Elite Sports Marketing & Management, which represents Noah Kibet, took a harder stance, and called out an error from ADAK that went beyond a matter of mistaken identity, even as the media outlets either removed their posts or issued corrections hours later.
“We want to make it unequivocally clear that Noah Kibet has NOT been suspended and has NOT committed an anti-doping violation,” the agency said in a separate post on social media. “The reports stem from a case of mistaken identity involving another athlete, Noah Kibet Cherogony, who is the individual named in the suspension. Our athlete, Noah Kibet, has been incorrectly associated with this matter, resulting in misleading headlines and unnecessary damage to his reputation.”
By Thursday night, the ADAK still listed Noah Kibet on its provisionally suspended list instead of Cherokony Noah Kibet, but on Friday the agency revised the notice and released a statement explaining the error because of the closeness of both names.
“The similarity in the names of the two athletes has occasioned confusion and speculation in sections of the media and among members of the public, resulting in the erroneous association of Noah Kibet, the 800 meters athlete and 2022 World Indoor Championships silver medalist, with the provisional suspension,” the statement read. “ADAK wishes to categorically clarify that the 800 meters athlete is NOT the athlete subject to the provisional suspension and should not be associated with the matter.”
The other athletes on the list who were cited for recent violations include Eliud Mwangi and Bernard Kipkemoi, who refused to give samples for drug tests, while Michael Manella is mentioned for using glucocorticoids-triamcinolone acetonide, with Justus Muasya and Shadrack Kenduiywo Kipkurui receiving bans for EPO.
