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Marathon runner Rita Jeptoo banned 2 years for PED’s

By Vinnie Criscenzo

Apr 21, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Rita Jeptoo (KEN) holds up the trophy after winning the women
Apr 21, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Rita Jeptoo (KEN) holds up the trophy after winning the women /
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Marathon runner Rita Jeptoo of Kenya has been banned for two years after testing positive for PED’s.

According to BBC Sport, Kenya’s Rita Jeptoo, who won the Boston and Chicago marathons this past year, has been banned for two years after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. She was tested positive back in September.

She becomes the first high-profile Kenyan athlete to have tested positive for PED’s. However, there have been plenty of other Kenyan athletes that have also failed drug tests. Jeptoo becomes the 45th Kenyan to test positive for PED’s. Also, the announcement that Jeptoo had been banned for two years come just a days after eight other Kenyan athletes were banned for related failures in drug testing.

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"Athletics Kenya followed due process in her matter and it was appropriate that she serves a two-year ban, said the governing body’s chief executive Isaac Kamande."

Jeptoo has won the previous three Boston marathons, along with the last two Chicago marathons. She also previously won the Paris, Stockholm, Milan and Lisbon marathons. She was set to be named 2014 Marathon Major Champion of the year, but the ceremony was cancelled after news of her failed drug test surfaced.

Jeptoo has tried to defend her failed drug test by saying that she may have had some banned substances in her system after they were prescribed to her at a local hospital after she was in a car accident. If she could get some proof of the medicines that were prescribed to her during her time in the hospital, maybe she could appeal the ban. However, that does not seem likely.

David Rudisha, the Olympic 800-meter champion from Kenya, is worried that all these doping charges against Kenyan athletes will hurt the hard-working reputation that Kenyans have earned over the years. Kenyan athletes do have a big reputation of not only being naturally gifted athletes, but also being extremely hard-working and respected nation.

Rudisha may be validated for his concerns, but with all the doping charges going on around every sport and every country right now, I don’t think Kenya will have to worry about being singled out right now.

[H/T: BBC Sport]

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