Jonah Koech, a US-based middle-distance runner, received a three-year ban from competition following a doping violation determined by the US Anti-Doping Agency. The agency identified the violation through atypical blood values detected in Koech’s athlete biological passport, a monitoring system that tracks blood markers over time to identify potential doping without requiring a positive drug test result.
Koech, who is 29 years old, had captured the men’s 1500m title at the US Outdoor Championships in a meet record time of three minutes 30.17 seconds, defeating competitors including 2024 Olympic gold medallist Cole Hocker. Following his acceptance of the ban, he has been stripped of that championship title and disqualified from all competitive results dating back to July 30, 2025, when his first abnormal blood sample was collected. He also forfeited any associated medals, points, and prizes from that period onward.
Blood samples from Koech were collected before and after the US Outdoor Championships, which took place on July 30 and August 8 of last year. The runner has not competed since placing 13th in the 1500m final at the World Championships held in Tokyo in September. Originally born in Kenya, Koech competed in the collegiate system in the United States from 2015 through 2019 and became eligible to represent the country in June 2021.
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