Govt to crackdown on age cheating and doping in school sports

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The Ministry of Education will begin crackdown on age cheating and doping in school sports, with teachers found facilitating the malpractice facing disciplinary action from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the ministry will take firm action against individuals involved in manipulating athletes’ ages or exposing students to performance-enhancing substances, warning that the vice threatens the credibility of school competitions and Kenya’s global athletics reputation.

Speaking in Kisumu during the official opening of the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) National Championships, Bitok said age cheating is rapidly emerging as a major integrity crisis in Kenyan sports.

“Age cheating is becoming a serious concern and is quickly beginning to rival doping in athletics in the country,” Bitok said.

He warned that teachers who facilitate falsification of birth records to allow overage students to compete in junior categories will face disciplinary action through the TSC.

“We will recommend disciplinary action against teachers who abet this vice. Age cheating and doping undermine fairness and compromise the integrity of school competitions,” the PS said.

According to Bitok, age cheating occurs when athletes falsify their birth credentials to compete in younger age categories, giving them an unfair advantage over genuine competitors.

He urged young athletes to resist the temptation of shortcuts, noting that such practices could damage their careers and tarnish Kenya’s long-standing reputation in global athletics.

“I am appealing to all athletes in Kenya to desist from age cheating. Repercussions of age cheating will bring credibility issues and attract the attention of international bodies like World Athletics,” he said.

Bitok warned that the practice risks undermining the legacy built by legendary Kenyan athletes.

“This reprehensible act will compromise the gains we have earned from renowned Kenyan athletes such as the late Wilson Kiprugut and retired Kipchoge Keino who represented the country in the Olympics and brought honour through hard work and honesty,” he added.

Recently, athletics coach Joseph Kiptanui, who has trained athletes for more than two decades, also called for firm action against age cheating, warning that the vice is spreading rapidly in athletics.

“Age cheating ought to be nipped in the bud with those found culpable facing legal consequences. We are already battling doping, and this new trend threatens to destroy the integrity of athletics,” Kiptanui said.

Kiptanui urged parents, coaches and athletes to uphold value ethicals and ensure accurate age verification during competitions.

“Parents, coaches and athletes must be sensitised on the need to uphold ethics in sports so that honesty and integrity are maintained,” he said.

The concerns come amid growing investigations into alleged age manipulation among Kenyan athletes. Athletics Kenya recently announced a crackdown after at least 20 athletes were flagged by World Athletics over potential age cheating.

Athletics Kenya has since suspended the affected athletes from participating in competitions pending further directives from World Athletics.

The investigations suggest that age cheating may involve networks of rogue coaches, parents and civil registry officials who collaborate to alter birth records to enable athletes compete in junior categories such as Under-20, Under-18 and Under-16.

Since 2016, nearly 100 Kenyan athletes have been penalised for testing positive for banned substances, placing the country under Category A monitoring by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Sports authorities now warn that if age manipulation is not addressed decisively, it could further erode trust in Kenya’s athletics system and jeopardise opportunities for young athletes who compete fairly