Kenya’s Olympic athletics preparations were thrown into chaos late on Thursday, after a coach was thrown out of the Rio Games for allegedly posing as an athlete for a drugs test.
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Anzrah, a former Kenyan sprinter and now coach, was kicked out by team officials because of “the crime he has committed against Team Kenya”, Arap Soi said.
International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said this week that the Kenyan team had been heavily tested for doping in the buildup to the Olympics because of years of problems in the country, a powerhouse in distance running.
It was not clear which athlete Anzrah was pretending to be.
The country had twice failed to meet Wada’s requests for anti-doping mechanisms to be put in place, with athletes facing special testing before the Games.
Anzrah was reported to authorities by doping control officers after being found with Ferguson’s accreditation badge in the athletes village, Arap Soi said.
“The IOC has immediately created a disciplinary commission to look into the matter with regard to the coach and the athlete concerned”, the spokeswoman added.
Rotich was dismissed following allegations that he was prepared to warn coaches about drugs tests in return for £10,000. He finished fourth at last summer’s World Championships in Beijing and owns a personal best of 1:42.84 from the 2014 Monaco Diamond League Meet.
The concerns over Kenya’s doping problem were so large that at one point the country’s participation at the Rio Olympics was under threat.
Anzrah’s explosion comes just days after Kenya’s track and field manager Michael Rotich was sent home for offering privileged information to journalists.
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Kip Keino, a double Olympic champion and chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Nock), told the Reuters news agency that Anzrah, a sprint coach, was sent home after being caught out after a drugs test at an Olympic venue. Michael Rotich, who is no relation to Ferguson, was filmed seeking the bribes in Kenya in January and February, The Sunday Times newspaper reported. Rotich has also been sent home from Rio.
