WADA Gives Kenya a New Deadline

(ATR) World Anti-Doping Agency is giving Kenya a deadline of May 2 to formally become compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code.

Kenya missed a deadline on Feb. 11 to pass a law establishing a new national anti-doping agency, resulting in WADA placing the country on a watch list of countries needing doping reform. WADA extended the deadline to impose doping reforms to April 5.

Although the Kenyan legislature created a preliminary bill that would criminalize doping in sports, the country’s Parliament began a month-long recess last week, ensuring that the country would miss WADA’s April 5 deadline.

WADA released what it called an update on April 7, clarifying that the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK)’s compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code needed to be in place by May 2.

"The Compliance Review Committee met on 5 April to discuss the outstanding issues related to the implementation of the 2015 Code in the Kenyan legal system. The Committee concluded that the current situation is not in compliance with the 2015 Code, since the bill, policy and ADAK rules have not yet been formally adopted.

"Unless the bill, policy and ADAK rules are formally adopted by 2 May 2016, the Compliance Review Committee’s recommendation to the WADA Foundation Board will be to declare the ADAK non-compliant.

"The WADA Foundation Board will vote on the matter at its next meeting in Montreal on 12 May 2016."

If WADA declares Kenya non-compliant, that will likely result in both the International Olympic Committee and International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) banning the national federation from the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Russian track athletes are already banned from Rio 2016 and are seeking a pathway towards reinstatement before the Games begin in August.

Written by Gerard Farek

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