Kenya to punish managers of athletes who fail dope tests

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya will hand out sanctions against agents managing four or more athletes who have failed doping tests, the country's governing body for athletics (KA) said. Kenya, which has blamed foreign agents for leading athletes into using performance-enhancing drugs, has long been accused of not taking adequate measures to deal with a growing number of doping cases. "If you manage three or four athletes who have been sanctioned, then you (that manager) will also be sanctioned. The list will be out after the national trials; probably next week," AK President Isaiah Kiplagat told reporters on Friday. "You don't deserve to manage Kenyan athletes. Our new Sports Act has given us powers to take action on such agents. We won't spare anybody." Kiplagat, however, did not elaborate on the exact nature of penalties to be handed out to the agents. Dozens of Kenyan athletes have failed dope tests in the past two years. Rita Jeptoo, one of Kenya's best known athletes and winner of the Boston and Chicago marathons for the last two years, failed drugs tests late last year. Athletics Kenya handed her a two-year ban last month.