The United States Anti-Doping Agency has announced a three-year ban for Jonah Koech after his Athlete Biological Passport revealed highly atypical blood values consistent with blood doping.

The abnormal samples were collected immediately before and after his first-place finish at the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships in the 1500m. As a result, all competitive results from July 30, 2025 onward (including his 2025 U.S. 1500m title) and any associated medals, points, and prize money have been disqualified.

Blood doping carries a standard four-year ban, but Koech received a one-year reduction under Article 10.8.1 of the World Anti-Doping Code for admitting the violation and accepting the sanction within 20 days of being charged, which brings the total down to three years.

USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart: “This case is proof that the Athlete Biological Passport can both deter and detect doping. To ensure a fair playing field, every anti-doping organization needs this tool and the resources to use it effectively.”

What you need to know:

The timeline:

• July 30, 2025: First abnormal blood sample collected — before the 1500m prelim
• August 8, 2025: Second abnormal sample — six days after his U.S. title win
• February 2026: ABP expert panel unanimously reports Adverse Passport Finding to USADA
• July 17, 2026: Provisional suspension imposed — ban clock starts
• August 10, 2026: Three-year sanction publicly announced
• July 17, 2029: Ban expires

Testing history:

According to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s public database of Athlete Test History, Jonah Koech was tested:

• 1x in 2022 (Q2)
• 0x in 2023
• 0x in 2024
• 9x in 2025 (All of them in Q3)
• 1x in 2026

Koech has not competed since finishing 13th in last year’s World Championship 1500m final in Tokyo on Sept. 17th.

He previously said he entered the World Championships with a hamstring injury he had aggravated at the U.S. Championships. Koech clocked a personal best of 3:31.43 to win the Rabat Diamond League last May and then improved to 3:30.17 in the U.S. final. He also ran a 1:43.32 800m personal best at altitude in Nairobi in May 2025.

According to LetsRun, Koech parted ways with his agent Peter Wolters following the 2025 season.

Koech was a member of the Under Armour Mission Run Baltimore 800m group, coached by Tom Brumlik, but spent the majority of his time training between Colorado Springs and Kenya. While he was in Colorado Springs, Haron Lagat would oversee his training. In June, LetsRun reported Lagat had not seen Koech in 2026.

Background

Koech was born and raised in Eldoret, Kenya and attended St. Patrick's High School, where he was coached by Brother Colm O'Connell (who also guided 2x Olympic champion and world record holder David Rudisha through his prep and professional career). Koech arrived in the United States to compete at UTEP from Fall 2015 to June 2018. He wrapped up his NCAA eligibility at Texas Tech in June 2019 before turning professional. He switched allegiances to the United States in 2021 when he enlisted in the U.S. Army.

Koech qualified for the 2022 World Championships in Eugene with a runner-up finish in the 800m at the USATF Outdoor National Championships. He was disqualified in the heats at the 2022 World Championships for jostling and lane obstruction. He finished 5th in the 800m final at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Who Was Affected By This?

Koech won last year's U.S. Championship 1500m final with a scorching 52.91-second final lap, where he veered into lane two in his kick for the win in 3:30.17.

With Koech disqualified from last year’s U.S. Outdoor Championships, Ethan Strand is elevated to 2025 national champion. It would have been his first career national title. (He earned his first in December when he won the USATF Cross Country 2K title.) 1500m Olympic champion Cole Hocker would get elevated from third place to second place.

Hobbs Kessler finished fourth in the U.S. 1500m final and thus missed out on an opportunity to represent the United States at the World Championships in Tokyo. Kessler was fifth in the Paris Olympic 1500m final just the year prior. He owns World Championship medals from the 2023 road mile (gold) and 2024 World Indoor 1500m (bronze).

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