Distance Runner Asbel Kiprop Says Drug Testers Extorted Him Before Failed Test

Distance runner Asbel Kiprop has issued a statement after allegedly testing positive for the banned substance EPO.

In the statement posted on his official Facebook page, Kiprop said the doping control officers who collected his sample asked him for money:

Matt Lawton of the Daily Mail first reported Kiprop failed an out-of-competition drug test taken late last year. 

Italian agent Federico Rosa told Lawton he "heard the same rumour" that Kiprop failed a test, but had not received official word from the IAAF. 

"It is very, very strange to me after so many years of such an incredible career," Rosa said in a phone interview with the Associated Press.

Kiprop was awarded an Olympic gold medal for Kenya in 2008 in the 1,500 meters after original winner Rashid Ramzi tested positive for a banned substance. 

The 28-year-old Kiprop competed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio but failed to medal after finishing sixth in the finals.