Peres Jepchirchir provisionally suspended after positive EPO test

Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit after an out-of-competition sample she provided in Kenya prior to winning the Sydney Marathon on 30 August 2026 tested positive for EPO. The 33-year-old clocked a time of two hours, 18 minutes and 31 seconds to win in Sydney.

Jepchirchir is the reigning Olympic women's marathon champion, having won in Tokyo in 2020, and she returned to the Japanese capital to win the World Championships in September 2025. She broke the women's half-marathon world record in 2017 and on three occasions in 2020. Her major marathon victories also include the New York Marathon in 2021, the Boston Marathon in 2022 and the London Marathon in 2024.

The sample that returned the adverse analytical finding for erythropoietin (EPO) was taken out of competition while Jepchirchir was in Kenya, prior to the Sydney race. The Athletics Integrity Unit imposed a provisional suspension after the positive result was recorded.

EPO, or erythropoietin, is a natural substance produced within the kidneys that stimulates the creation of new red blood cells. If injected, it is only detectable in the urine or blood for a short window of time, and increases the amount of red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the muscles, in the blood stream.

Jepchirchir won the Sydney race, which became the seventh world major in 2025, by three minutes and 40 seconds from compatriot Irene Chepet Cheptai. The victory in Sydney was one of several high-profile wins in her career that established her as a leading marathon runner.

The Athletics Integrity Unit's provisional suspension is the immediate formal action following the positive EPO test.