TCS SYDNEY MARATHON STATEMENT

The TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS is extremely disappointed to learn that Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), after an out-of-competition sample collected in Kenya prior to the TCS Sydney Marathon, held on 30 August 2026, returned an adverse analytical finding for EPO.

Jepchirchir is entitled to due process, and we will make no further comment on the case until that process has concluded.

Our commitment to clean sport is unwavering. Every athlete who lines up in Sydney deserves to race on a level playing field, and every participant and spectator deserves to trust the result they see at the finish line. That conviction is why, alongside our fellow Abbott World Marathon Majors, we have invested in increased out-of-competition testing in partnership with the AIU, and why we will keep standing firmly with the athletes who compete cleanly. 

Under Abbott World Marathon Majors rules, any athlete banned for a doping offence of three months or more is banned for life from all eight Majors.