On August 10, Jonah Koech received a three-year suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which came after an Athlete Biological Passport violation case resulted in elevated blood levels linked to blood doping. The American middle-distance runner accepted the sanction, which also stripped him of his 2025 US 1500m title. But just two days later, Koech’s doping story took a strange turn as he denied ever doping.

After news of his suspension emerged, Koech discussed the case in Instagram messages with a LetsRun.com reader. “I didn’t take anything…,” Koech wrote. He later repeated his position in an email to LetsRun, writing, “I am clean and I will always be.”

He also added, “I will always be if you need all answers, ask USADA to tell you what I use or ask them to give you samples if there is anything in it then tell me.”

His comments conflict with the agreement that led to his reduced suspension. Under the World Anti-Doping Code, an athlete facing a four-year sanction can receive a one-year reduction by admitting the anti-doping violation and accepting the sanction within 20 days.

The American runner also addressed the blood values at the center of the case. Koech said his hemoglobin levels can range between 17.5 and 19.5 and argued that altitude, training, and individual physiology can influence those numbers.

“I am 19.5 and they found 19.6 and 18.7…The blood ABP depends on where you are and what you do,” he said. “It goes down when overworking and in high altitude conditions. And it depends on [each individual]. Mine goes up in low altitude while in high altitude [it] goes down which they didn’t want to consider. I explained [this] to them. I gave them all the supplements I was using. I don’t hide anything.”

Koech also claimed that defending the case properly would have required about $50,000 in legal fees. “They want 50$k to do that. Where is that amount of money?” he wrote. He suggested that he had tried to find better lawyers but could not afford the amount needed to fight the case.

However, USADA maintains that Koech’s suspension is “in place and final.” The agency also said it continues to investigate the circumstances of the case, while declining to explain exactly what Koech admitted in the agreement. Meanwhile, Koech’s suspension has also affected the official outcome of the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships.

Koech’s ban changes US 1500m results 

At the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships, Jonah Koech won the national title in 3:30.17. Ethan Strand finished second while Cole Hocker took third in 3:30.37, and Hobbs Kessler finished fourth in 3:31.12.

But a year later, Koech’s three-year USADA suspension has now changed the outcome of that race. His results from July 30, 2025, onward have been disqualified, meaning his 1500m title has been vacated, and Strand is set to be recognized as the 2025 US champion.

“It’s great for the rest of the US to have a real champion,” Strand said. USATF has begun updating the results and said Strand will receive the difference in prize money between second and first place. The federation is also attempting to recover the $8,800 originally awarded to Koech.

The change also affects Kessler, who finished fourth on the night and missed the World Championships team. Although he now moves up to third in the revised results, Kessler said the original result had already affected his confidence and momentum through the rest of 2025 and into 2026.

“I’m pretty disappointed because it sucks getting 4th,” Kessler said. “It kind of crushed my momentum, and it really stung. Finding out someone used shortcuts to beat me kind of blows. But it’s over now. It’s not the biggest deal in the world, it sucks, but at the end of the day, my family is healthy and stuff.”

Kessler also said missing the team likely cost him financially through lost prize money, bonuses, and other opportunities. Yet while the official results are now being changed, the full details of what Koech admitted to USADA remain undisclosed.