Kenyan athletes’ experiences with anti-doping rule violations

Kenya’s long and rich history of success in middle and long-distance running has been dented by the numerous doping cases in the country (ADAK, 2024a; Athletics Integrity Unit, 2024a). Athletes who use Performance Enhancing Substances violate anti-doping rules and may face consequences including result cancellations, forfeiture of prize money, and lengthy sporting bans (WADA, 2021b). In addition to these consequences, reports (e.g., N. Douglas, 2021; Sudinfo, 2013) suggest that sanctions may be accompanied by adverse effects on the health and well-being of athletes. This contradicts the health principle upon which the anti-doping policy is founded. Despite such reports, athletes’ experiences with doping bans have received little research attention. Therefore, this research aimed to explore the impact of anti-doping sanctions on Kenyan track and field athletes. The study examined the impact of sanctions on athletes’ personal and professional lives, support networks, social relationships, and future career trajectories as well as assessing their support needs. Adopting an interpretivist paradigm, this exploratory qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with ten athletes and three anti-doping personnel. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used to guide the data analysis. The results from this study showed that once sanctioned, Kenyan athletes struggled with stress, depression, and financial difficulties. Their social circles contracted as some friends within sport dissociated themselves from them, although some new friendship connections were made outside of their sport environment. Athletes were labeled cheats by other athletes and/or mocked by being referred to by the prohibited substance found in their bodies. Additionally, sanctions were accompanied by alcohol abuse for some, straining family relationships, causing temporary separation, and potentially affecting their children. This raised concerns about children experiencing unintended consequences of anti-doping sanctions. The availability of support and age influenced athletes’ post-sanction career paths. While athletes identified family and friends as key sources of support during sanctions, not all had access to these resources. This stresses the need for an independent and structured support program to offer psychological support and other services to all sanctioned athletes. Despite these negative impacts of sanctions, athletes reported several positive outcomes. Since athletes were ineligible to compete, they had time to explore opportunities for personal growth, such as pursuing a university degree or focusing on their non-sporting career. Moreover, athletes improved their anti-doping knowledge by actively seeking doping-related information while striving for acceptance and closure. Overall, this study is a valuable addition to the sparse literature on athletes’ post-sanction life and emphasizes the need to support sanctioned athletes.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Recreation, Sport, and Tourism

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Juma, Byron Omwando

Contributors dc:contributor

• Woolf, Jules R
• Liechty, Toni
• Berdychevsky, Liza
• May, Reuben

• Career Transition
• Doping, Post-sanctions
• Sanctioned Athletes
• Track And Field
• Unintended Consequences
• Wada

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Byron Omwando Juma

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127160

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F127160