'I Think He Was Misled' - Benson Kipruto Speaks Out After His Training Partner Receives 3-Year Doping Ban

Newly-crowned New York City Marathon champion Benson Kipruto has opened up about his training partner Esphond Cheruiyot being banned for three years by the Athletics Integrity Unit.

Esphond Cheruiyot was banned for the use of a prohibited substance, Trimetazidine, with the ban taking effect from October 23, and all his results from September 21 were disqualified.

Cheruiyot, just 24, had started his professional journey as an athlete in 2024, competing at the Movistar Madrid Medio Maratón, where he finished third.

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The Kenyan youngster then raced at the Buenos Aires International Marathon in 2025, where he finished third, but his results have since been disqualified.

Benson Kipruto expressed disappointment over the situation involving his training partner Esphond Cheruiyot, describing it as damaging to their reputation.

He noted that despite the incident, he chose to stay focused on his race, speaking before the New York City Marathon, which he just won.

Benson Kipruto explained that Esphond Cheruiyot had obtained the medication independently and suggested that, as a young athlete, he may have been influenced by others. He added that Cheruiyot must ultimately bear responsibility for his actions and the resulting suspension.

“First of all, I would say it was really a bad image of us. But then I thought maybe my focus now is on the race. So you know, it's a good platform to share that information on, but rather the case, it was a bad image,” Benson Kipruto said in an interview with Letsrun.com.

“He admitted that he himself got the medication outside the camp, and he's a young boy. I think he was misled by somebody who got the medicine. Also, he is responsible for the medication and the consequences of the ban.”

Benson Kipruto added that it had affected not only him but the entire training community. He explained that the case had tarnished the collective efforts of athletes like Sabastian Sawe and others in their camp who have been working hard to promote integrity and eliminate doping in Kenya.

The 2024 Tokyo Marathon champion noted that the incident had shaken their morale because it represented a setback to the progress they had made in restoring trust in clean athletics.

He added that investigations were ongoing as the team continued to hold meetings to determine exactly what had transpired.

According to Benson Kipruto, Esphond Cheruiyot had only recently joined the camp, making it difficult for them to fully understand the circumstances surrounding his actions. He suggested that the young runner might have been influenced by the wrong people outside their group.

Benson Kipruto described the matter as unfortunate and emphasised the importance of continuing to educate upcoming athletes about the dangers and consequences of using prohibited substances.

“It's a disappointment to all of us as a community because he is kind of destroying what Sebastian Sawe and we as a camp started to try and eradicate the use of prohibited substances from doping in Kenya,” he added.

“This boy, I kind of think he was misled by someone, but we are still investigating what happened right now. We had a couple of meetings discussing, and we talked about what happened, and it was just the first case inside the town.

“This boy recently joined us from outside, so we could not really understand what happened, and it was unfortunate.”

Benson Kipruto reiterated that while Esphond Cheruiyot’s case was regrettable, it should serve as a wake-up call for young athletes and the wider running community.

He stressed the need for continuous education, transparency, and mentorship within training camps to prevent similar incidents in the future.