On 17 May 2023, Kipruto was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit for the use of a prohibited substance/method from his athlete biological passport (ABP) data.[6][7] On 5 June 2024, the AIU announced that he had been banned for six years.[3]
Career
Rhonex Kipruto's parents are farmers. He grew up in Kombatich and his coach is Colm O'Connell.[8]
2017
In September, 17-year-old Kipruto finished third in the 10 kilometres road race at the Prague Grand Prix with a time of 27:13. It was the first time in history that three men finished inside 27:20 in the same 10 km race.[9]
2018
On 10 February, he placed second in the junior men's run at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships.[10] The following month on 17 March, he participated in the African Cross Country Championships U20 race in Algeria. He won the 8 km run with a time of 25:01.[11] Kipruto then won the UAE Healthy Kidney 10 km in New York City, U.S. on 29 April. While Leonard Komon's (former 10K world record holder) 2011 course record was 27:35 Kipruto finished in 27:08, the fastest 10K on a record-eligible course on US soil.[12]
He went to the World U20 Championships held in Tampere, Finland in July. On 10 July, he won the 10,000 metres title with a time of 27:21.08, a new championship record. Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda (the 2017 U20 cross country world champion) placed second 22 seconds behind and Berihu Aregawi of Ethiopia came in third with 27:48.41.[13][14]
On 8 September, Kipruto ran in his third 10K race the second-fastest time in history (behind the Leonard Komon's world record of 26:44 from 2010) with his winning time of 26:46 in Prague.[15][16]
2019
Kipruto won the IAAF Cross Country Permit in Elgoibar on 13 January in a time of 32:05.[17] In February, he placed sixth in the men's senior 10 km race at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships in Eldoret, finishing 18 seconds behind Amos Kirui's winning time of 29:51. Kipruto then ran in the men's senior race at the World Cross Country Championships held in March in Aarhus, Denmark. He finished sixth in a time of 32:17 out of 144 starters. The run was won by Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) in 31:40 and Jacob Kiplimo placed second in 31:44.[18] However, Kipruto won with Kenya the silver medal in the team ranking behind Uganda and ahead of Ethiopia.[19]
On 4 July, Kipruto won the 10 km Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, Georgia, USA with a time of 27:01, breaking the previous course record and setting an all-comers' record (best performance on country's soil).[20] The Association of Road Racing Statisticians describes this race as "Acceptable for ranking, no record quality...".[21] The former course record was set in 1996 with a time of 27:04 by Joseph Kimani. Kipruto's brother Bravin Kiptoo placed second with a time of 27:29, and Kennedy Kimutai finished in third place with 27:54.[22][23] At the Kenyan Championships on 21 August, Kipruto placed second in the 10,000 m in a time of 27:26.34. The race was won by Geoffrey Kamworor in a time of 27:24.76.[24]
2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar
On 6 October 2019, Kipruto raced the 10,000 m. The winner was Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) in 26:48.36, the runner up was Yomif Kejelcha (Ethiopia) in 26:49.34. Kipruto took the bronze medal with a time of 26:50.32.[25]
2020–present
On 12 January 2020, Kipruto set a 10 km road race world record in Valencia with a time of 26:24. The former world record had been set by Joshua Cheptegei in Valencia on 1 December 2019 with 26:38.[26]Benard Kimeli (Kenya) came in second with 27:12 and Julien Wanders of Switzerland finished in third place in 27:13, a new European record. Kipruto covered the first half in 13:18 and the second one in 13:06. Wanders improved on his own European record by 12 seconds.[27]
In 2024, Kipruto was banned for six years for a "a deliberate and sophisticated doping regime". His race results since September 2018 have been disqualified.[3]
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