In case you haven’t noticed, Kenya’s runners are good. Lately, they are better than ever.
Last spring at the London Marathon, Kenyan men finished first, second, third and fourth. Last summer, at the world track and field championships in Beijing, Kenyans topped the medals table for the first time, with seven gold medals, six silver and three bronze.
And on Sunday, Kenyan runners captured the men’s and women’s races at the New York City Marathon for the third year in a row.
But that’s where this feel-good story ends.
The reason is simple: Kenya cannot assure the world that any of its athletes is unequivocally drug-free, at least according to tests by its national antidoping program.