World and Olympic 3,000-meter steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto announced Saturday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not participate in the Monaco meeting of the World Athletics Diamond League in August.

"Unfortunately my COVID-19 test, as part of the Monaco-protocol, came back positive and therefore I can't be part of the Monaco Diamond League on August 14. I don't have any symptoms, and I was actually in great shape. I was planning to go for the world record: it has stayed too long outside Kenya. As the World and Olympic champion, I strongly feel it's something I should go for as well," said Kipruto.

The current 3,000-meter steeplechase world record of 7:53.63 was set by Qatar's Saif Saeed Shaheen in Brussels in September 2004.

As one of the world's best in 3,000-meter steeplechase, Kipruto won the gold at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. He also set the new Olympic record of 8:03.29 in the final. In the following two IAAF World Athletics World Championships in 2017 and 2019, Kipruto continued to occupy the throne.

One of the most memorable highlights of Kipruto was in the Diamond League Final in Brussels in 2018. He lost one of his shoes early in men's 3,000-meter steeplechase final but managed to finish the race with one shoe only.

According to Kipruto, he has not shown any symptom but the test result means he must be quarantined, and it remains unknown when he will be allowed to attend competition again.

The Monaco meeting will be the first part of the Diamond League this season as the previous ones in Eugene, London, Paris, Rabat, Gateshead, Shanghai were all cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.