Athletics Kenya President Jackson Tuwei has denied claiming a high profile athlete has failed a drugs test ©Getty Images

Athletics Kenya President Jackson Tuwei has denied claiming a high profile athlete from the country has failed a drugs test.

Tuwei reportedly made the statement last week, with the alleged assertion coming in the wake of Olympic marathon champion Jemima Sumgong's failure at an out-of-competition test in April. 

Sumgong tested for erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone which boosts red blood cells.

The marathon runner faces the prospect of a four-year ban should her B-sample also come back positive.

The test was funded by Abbott World Marathon Majors, a group of six of the world's leading races.

Kenya has faced increasing pressure over the number of top athletes who have tested positive, but Tuwei has denied confirming another high profile case.

"There is no such thing," he told Daily Nation.

"This has created anxiety and many athletes are worried, but I wish to state that we have received no such information, and there's no need to get worried.

"If anyone is found, there are procedures to be followed and there's a confidentiality clause so these reports I'm seeing are not true."

Rita Jeptoo is one of the high profile Kenyan athletes to have failed a drugs test in recent years ©Getty Images
Rita Jeptoo is one of the high profile Kenyan athletes to have failed a drugs test in recent years ©Getty Images

Tuwei had been quoted by Reuters last week as saying "there is another high-profile athlete who has also failed a doping test but we have to wait for legal procedures to be followed.

"Obviously, we cannot say who the athlete is."

Athletics Kenya released a statement last week condemning cheating in sport and reminded athletes they could face legal proceedings should they commit a doping offence.

A new law criminalising doping has been introduced in the country, which was declared non-compliant by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in May to put participation at Rio 2016 in jeopardy.

WADA said Kenya were in breach of anti-doping rules before the situation was resolved in time for the Olympics.

Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Arts and Culture Hassan Wario claimed earlier this month that coaches and agents working with Kenya's top runners have been warned they will face extra monitoring as part of an increased crackdown on doping in the country.

He warned that athletes caught taking banned drugs could face prosecution, as well as suspension from the sport.

Around 40 athletes from the nation have tested positive for banned drugs since 2012, including three-times Boston Marathon winner Rita Jeptoo, who failed for EPO in 2014.