Chepkemei banned

Chepkemei was handed the ban late after she tested positive for banned substance salbutamol in an out-of-competition drug test in Nairobi last September.

The 32-year-old athlete, who is one the world's greatest road runners, escaped the mandatory two-year ban for the offence after it was proven the salbutamol was part of prescribed medication she was taking for pneumonia.

Athletics Kenya officials said Chepkemei, now pregnant with her first child, had inadvertently flouted the doping rules, and being a first time offender reduced her ban by one year in conformity with IAAF rules.

The ban takes effect from last October and as such Chepkemei, also a silver medallist in the 10,000 metres in the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, will miss this year's Beijing Olympic Games.

The runner did not take part in the annual Kenya Prisons cross country championships held in Nairobi earlier this month, an event which is used to select participants for the country's national championships.