Olympic and World Championships marathon gold medallist Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit following a positive test for EPO from an out-of-competition sample.

The 33-year-old Kenyan athlete provided the sample before her victory at the Sydney Marathon on 30 August 2026, where she finished with an impressive time of two hours, 18 minutes and 31 seconds.

EPO, or erythropoietin, is a hormone produced by the kidneys that promotes the production of red blood cells. While naturally occurring, when injected, it can enhance athletic performance by increasing oxygen delivery to the muscles, but it is only detectable in the body for a limited time.

Jepchirchir's accolades include:

• Winning the Olympic women's marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
• Claiming the World Championships title in September 2025
• Breaking the women’s half-marathon world record multiple times in 2017 and 2020
• Major marathon victories in New York (2021), Boston (2022), and London (2024)

In Sydney, she triumphed by more than three minutes over fellow Kenyan Irene Chepet Cheptai. The sample that led to the suspension was collected while Jepchirchir was in Kenya prior to the race.