It was December 2011, seven months before the London Olympics, Kenya by then being increasingly dominant in global distance running. No town on Earth – or indeed country, for that matter – has produced more distance running champions than Iten. It’s not always sunny in Iten, and my first few days were misty and wet and unseasonably cool. Only now, I think if I passed under that sign again I’d see and feel something sickeningly different: Welcome to Iten – home of champions and of cheats. Team managerAmong them is their 2016 Rio Olympic athletics team manager Michael Rotich, banned for 10 years for providing advance notice to athletes of doping tests.

Source: The Irish Times January 17, 2020 19:52 UTC