Former Olympic 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop says he has given up trying to prove there was tampering with his positive doping sample.
Kenya’s three-time world champion was found to have traces of erythropoietin (EPO) after a test in November 2017.
In a Facebook post, the 28-year-old maintained his innocence but added he did not have the finances to challenge athletics’ governing body, the IAAF.
“I have let the struggle to prove my innocence go,” he said.
“Not because I doped, but I take the sacrifice because I support the anti-doping campaign.”
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), the independent body which manages all doping-related matters for athletics, found Kiprop was tipped off about the test by a doping control officer who he knew.
The three-time world champion alleged the testers asked him for an unspecified sum of money. He said his sample “turned positive” because he did not give them enough money via an electronic transfer but that claim was rejected by the AIU.
“I do not have money to meet legal fees and find qualified physicians who can give their opinion on my sample and discredit any possible unjust reason to why the sample resulted in an EPO finding,” he added in Wednesday’s Facebook post.
“I’m financially weak to challenge my accuser, the IAAF, whom I have always worked hard for. However, I’m rich in truth and sincerity – this seem to mean nothing.”
Kiprop finished second at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 but was upgraded to gold when Bahrain’s Rashid Ramzi failed a drugs test.
He added world titles in 2011, 2013 and 2015 and has run the fifth fastest 1500m of all time.
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