Rita Jeptoo, a former Chicago and Boston Marathon winner, has received a two-year ban from Athletics Kenya, . Her ban has been backdated to September 25, 2014, and will extend through October 29, 2016, which will prevent her participation in the Rio Olympics, .
“For now, the case of Rita has come to a rest and what remains now for us is to move on,” Athletics Kenya president Isaiah Kiplagat told the AP. “We shall see how we shall work with the new anti-doping agency of Kenya in partnership to deal with the vice.”
It’s unclear which marathons Jeptoo ran will be voided due to doping violations, though should she choose to appeal her ban to the and lose, her 2014 Chicago Marathon victory on October 12 would be forfeited.
Jeptoo, also the , was set to receive a $500,000 check for her title as the 2013–2014 World Marathon Majors (WMM) overall champion following the 2014 New York City Marathon. RunBlogRun.com days before the award, and the WMM , announcing suspension of the ceremony “until that determination has been made.”
, WMM General Counsel Nick Bitel said, “We are aware of the positive A and B samples from Rita Jeptoo that were taken from out-of-competition testing in September 2014 that was funded by our organization in partnership with the IAAF. However until the appeals process has run its course, we are unable to confirm our women’s series winner.”