Michael Kunyuga Ngenja, suspended last year for the presence or use of nandrolone, has been hit with a second provisional suspension for alleged tampering ©Getty Images

Kenyan marathon runner Michael Kunyuga Njenga has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for tampering.

Njenga received a previous provisional suspension from the AIU in August 2022, for the presence or use of the banned substance norandrosterone, with this case still to be resolved.

Norandrosterone is a product of nandrolone, an anabolic androgenic steroid known to accelerate muscle growth and recovery.

Njenga, 35, last competed at the Rimi Riga Marathon in Latvia in May 2022, when he placed second.

His previous victory came in the 2018 Hangzhou Marathon in Hangzhou, China, which he won in a time of 2hour 10min 37sec.   

He has a personal best in the marathon of 2:06:43, set when he finished fifth in the 2020 Seville Marathon.

Lawrence Cherono, who won the Boston and Chicago Marathons in 2019, is among the Kenyan athletes currently on the AIU's provisional suspensions list ©Getty Images
Lawrence Cherono, who won the Boston and Chicago Marathons in 2019, is among the Kenyan athletes currently on the AIU's provisional suspensions list ©Getty Images

Kunyunga also won the Hengshui Lake Marathon and Padova Marathon in 2017.

Kenya is one of seven Category A nations deemed by the AIU to have the highest doping risk, along with Bahrain, Belarus, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria and Ukraine.

Last month the AIU and the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) announced a target of completing 5,000 drug tests by the end of the year.

The AIU also held a strategy meeting in Nairobi with ADAK and Athletics Kenya during July, and ran online education seminars for the country’s athletes.

Including Njenga, nine Kenyans are currently on the AIU’s list of provisionally suspended athletes, with the list also featuring 10 kilometres road race world record holder Rhonex Kipruto and fellow marathon runners Titus Ekiru and Lawrence Cherono.