The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has provisionally suspended two Kenyan athletes, Mikel Kiprotich Mutai and Alex Korio Oliotiptip, for separate violations of World Athletics anti-doping rules.
US sprinters Deajah Stevens and Gabrielle Thomas were suspended alongside Korio "whereabout failures" while Mutai, a marathon runner, has been punished for "presence of a prohibited substance" known as norandrosterone.
Charges have been issued to both Korio and Mutai. The suspension of the Kenyan duo comes after AIU suspended 2017 London Marathon champion Daniel Wanjiru for a doping violation last month.
Wanjiru shot to the limelight when he edged out Ethiopian long-distance running legend Kenenisa Bekele to London Marathon victory in 2017 before finishing eighth in the 2017 London World Championships.
According to AIU, provisional suspension is when an athlete or other person is suspended temporarily from participating in any competition or activity in athletics prior to a final decision at a hearing conducted under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules or the Integrity Code of Conduct.
The AIU, the independent anti-doping watchdog for track and field set up in 2017, operates testing procedures in more than 100 countries.
