Boston marathon winner Rita Jeptoo gets two-year ban for doping
Top Kenyan marathon runner Rita Jeptoo was handed a two-year ban after being caught doping with the banned blood-boosting hormone EPO, officials said on Friday.
The suspension, announced by the local governing body Athletics Kenya, was the minimum mandatory punishment she was facing under international anti-doping regulations in place when she was caught in an out-of competition test last year.
Jeptoo, winner of the last two consecutive Boston and Chicago marathons, is the biggest name in Kenyan athletics to have been caught cheating and the scandal has cast a shadow over the achievements of the east African distance running powerhouse.
This will not deter other athletes from taking drugs. Why are they being lenient? The rotten few are hurting Kenyan athletics
“Rita Jeptoo has been banned for two years, effective from 30th October last year to 29th October next year, following the results of the A and B samples which showed she had used the prohibited substance EPO,” said Athletics Kenya’s chief executive Isaac Mwangi.
Jeptoo, 33, has already been denied the US$500,000 prize for winning the last World Marathon Majors series, although it remains unclear if she will have to pay back prize money that has already been paid out.
Athletes caught doping after January 1 this year now face a mandatory four-year ban.
