NAIROBI, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has been ranked among risk countries with potential to its athletes taking banned doping substances and will now be watched closely by the IAAF Athletics Integrity Unit.
This comes even as another elite athlete was nabbed by Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) for violating the code and will have to miss the Africa Championships in Asaba, Nigeria as he waits his verdict and suspension for a minimum of four years.
Kenya has been placed on the watch list of four member federations alongside Ethiopia, Belarus and Ukraine, which pushes their risk level to high. The four countries have been placed in Pool A by the Athletics Integrity Unit.
"This means that the national team athletes from these federations will have to undergo at least three out-of-competition doping tests in the ten months before a world championships or Olympic Games," IAAF said in a statement on Saturday.
This was part of the resolutions passed by the IAAF Council, the supreme law making body for athletics.
"The IAAF Council has also approved new regulations which will spell out the obligations of its member federations in the fight against doping," said IAAF.
Previously, the obligations under the anti-doping code were focused primarily on individuals rather than member federations. The Athletics Integrity Unit recommended the new regulations to the IAAF as a crucial step in protecting the integrity of the sport.
The IAAF will divide member federations into three different categories which will have different obligations based on their level of success in athletics and the risk of doping.
With Kenya, Ethiopia, Belarus and Ukraine leading in Pool A, category B will include the other federations who are competitive at international level while category C will include federations with very few international-level athletes.
"Category A and B federations will be required to ensure athlete drug-testing plans are submitted to the IAAF before each world championships or Olympic Games," said IAAF.
Under this system, the Athletics Integrity Unit will have responsibility for monitoring and reporting breaches, but the IAAF Council will determine any sanctions.
