Burgeoning road running events bring doping shame along with more prize money

Athletics Integrity Unit’s (AIU) announcement banning Rameshwar Munjal, 27, a steeplechaser-turned marathoner from Aurangabad in Maharashtra, for five years on account of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) holds a message for Indian distance runners chasing prize money through the mushrooming road running events in the country.

Rameshwar Munjal, who won the men’s event in the WNC Navy Half Marathon in Mumbai on December 8, became the fourth Indian athlete to be banned by AIU in less than six weeks. Archana Jadhav, Vivek More and Pradhan Kirulkar whose samples collected in the Pune Half Marathon on December 15 last tested positive, were handed the bans in mid-March.  

Though the National Anti-Doping Laboratory reported an adverse analytical finding for Erythropoetin (EPO) and Darbepoetin (dEPO) on March 12, it was a month before the AIU notified the athlete of a potential ADRV. Rameshwar Munjal took a fortnight to admit the violation and accept the consequences specified in the allegation.

Curiously, Madhuri Kale, winner of the women’s event in WNC Navy Half Marathon, was provisionally suspended on January 8 after her sample tested positive for Mephentermine. It seems Madhuri Kale is set to join the four other Indian runners as AIU has issued her a notice of charge, ostensibly in the absence of an admission of rule violation. 

Archana Jadhav, who is just 20 years of age, gave up on two chances to secure a reduced ban and was sanctioned for four years. Like Rameshwar Munjal now, Pradhan Kirulkar and Vivek More had accepted guilt and secured a year-long reduction in their respective periods of ineligibility. 

As coincidences go, all five distance runners who have tested positive in the World Athletics Label events held on December 8 and 15, hail from Maharashtra. Perhaps the National Anti-Doping Agency can take a cue from AIU’s decision to test distant runners in Indian events and make its presence felt in the burgeoning distance running space in the country. 

A recent study concluded that sponsorship of distance running in India accounted for around Rs. 425 crore, 23.5 per cent of all non-cricket sponsorship amounts. World Athletics lists nine Indian road running events in 2024 while the Association of International Marathons and Distance Running (AIMS) lists 26 member races in India. 

Athletics Federation of India officials believe there are at least 250, if not more, road running events across the country each year. However, as per data available on the AFI website, the most sanctioned by the Federation in a calendar year is 22 in 2018. 
 
AIU has also shown that when it enters into agreement with athletes admitting ADRVs , cites aggravating circumstances and enforces a longer ban on athletes who test positive for multiple prohibited substances. Vivek More, whose sample tested positive for Mephentermine, Meldonium and dEPO, and Rameshwar Munjal have been banned for five years each. 

NADA has invoked aggravating circumstances only in a couple of cases and will feel encouraged to pursue this line more often. Weightlifter Prince (sanctioned on June 11 last) and Bodybuilder Kavita Chanu Engudam (sanctioned on December 30) are the only two athletes who have been given five-year sanctions due to aggravating circumstances.