US-Based Kenyan Runner Launches Emergency CAS Appeal to Overturn Suspension Before World Indoors

Kenyan 1500-meter runner Festus Lagat has launched an emergency appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn a provisional suspension for whereabouts failures.

The US-based athlete hopes to have the suspension, issued by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK), lifted in time to compete at the World Athletics Indoor Championships from March 20-22.

Lagat, 29, is a former Iowa State competitor who has been training in the United States since graduating in 2021. He is currently part of Under Armour’s Dark Sky Distance team in Flagstaff, Arizona, coached by Stephen Haas. His personal bests include a formidable 1:44.10 in the 800m and 3:29.03 in the 1500m.

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Lagat's lawyer, Paul Greene, alleges that his client is being unfairly targeted as ADAK attempts to demonstrate its compliance with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code.

"It seems ADAK is on a campaign to ruin the lives of many athletes, including Festus, to try and show WADA it is tough on doping and avoid non-compliance," Greene stated as quoted by Letsrun.com.

"But in the process, they are the ones failing to follow the rules. Festus is innocent, and we will fight for him to make sure he is exonerated."

This situation unfolds after WADA's Executive Committee flagged ADAK for non-compliance in September following a May 2024 audit. ADAK was given a four-month deadline to implement a corrective action plan and they have since been declared compliant.

On Monday, ADAK provisionally suspended Festus Lagat along with 26 other Kenyan athletes for various anti-doping rule violations. Greene, who is representing at least three of these athletes, criticized the agency's methods.

"In none of the cases that I’ve seen have [ADAK] followed the rules properly, have they properly notified the athletes, have they properly sent the notices to the email addresses the athletes have designated, have they even told these athletes what’s at stake," Greene said.

"This is just scorched-earth, torching people trying to show that they’re tough so that WADA doesn’t find them non-compliant."

Greene further explained that ADAK failed to provide Lagat with crucial details regarding his alleged whereabouts failures.

"They haven’t even told Festus the basis of why they claim his Whereabouts information was filed improperly when we have receipts proving he did file properly," he said.

An anti-doping rule violation for whereabouts requires an athlete to accumulate three failures within a 12-month period. These can be either missed tests or filing failures, which involve submitting incomplete or inaccurate information.

According to Greene, Lagat's case involves two alleged filing failures and one missed test. For one of the filing failures, Greene claims ADAK has not specified the reason for the violation. "Basically, he’s been forced to guess as to what possibly could be the reason," he said.

Greene noted that Lagat was only informed of a violation in the third quarter (Q3). He speculated it might relate to the filing deadline, as Lagat received conflicting dates of June 10 and June 15. Lagat submitted his information on June 14, ahead of the Athletics Integrity Unit's (AIU) standard June 15 deadline.

Another alleged incident was a filing failure on October 1, the first day of Q4. Greene pointed out that athletes are often given a 48-hour grace period to correct information at the start of a quarter, an option he says ADAK chose not to offer Lagat.

Regarding the third failure, Greene stated he had not yet discussed the specifics with his client. "He has not conceded that he didn’t comply on either one of them," Greene added. "We haven’t dug into those as much."

An athlete's case is only valid after three filing failures, not one or two, according to Paul Greene, the lawyer representing Kenyan runner Bernard Lagat.

"In our view, it’s three or it’s nothing," Greene stated. "A lot of athletes are walking around with one or two filing failures. It doesn’t matter; until you get to three, there’s no case."

Greene explained that the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) declined to fast-track an appeal, which would have resolved the issue before the World Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland, scheduled for March 20-22.

Consequently, Lagat has taken his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to request the lifting of his provisional suspension, which would clear him to compete.

This specific appeal to CAS will not address the details of Lagat's case but will solely determine if his suspension can be temporarily lifted, allowing him to participate in the upcoming championships before his hearing with ADAK. The Kenyan anti-doping agency has been given until Monday to provide its response to CAS.