Four-time Boston Marathon winner Bill Rodgers admitted he may be naive, but he was shocked when news broke yesterday that Rita Jeptoo, the 2014 women’s winner in Boston, received a two-year ban from Athletics Kenya, her country’s governing body, after she failed an out-of-competition drug test.
The 33-year-old Jeptoo was found to have traces of the blood booster EPO in her “A” sample during an out-of-competition testing done in Kenya last Sept. 25. A subsequent “B” sample conducted in Switzerland confirmed a positive test. Typically, a two-year suspension is handed out to first-time offenders.
“It’s a wake-up call that not enough is being done. Frank Shorter (the 1972 Olympic champion) has talked about this for a long time,” said Rodgers. “Certainly, some countries don’t have the wealth to provide the testing that needs to be done, but we know it’s got to be closely watched.
“People have to understand that it’s not the testing they do at the Boston Marathon or the Chicago Marathon where they catch them. It’s the testing done in the out-of-competition testing,” Rodgers added. “We need more of that. I know our athletes are among the most-tested athletes out there, but we need a more even playing field.”
Tom Grilk, executive director of the Boston Marathon, said the Boston Athletic Association will make a decision regarding her title and any recouping of prize money after any appeals she may pursue through the International Amateur Athletics Federation, the World Anti-Doping Agency and a Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“Drugs and doping in our sport will not be tolerated, and we will work with our partners in the Abbott World Marathon Majors, as well as the IAAF and WADA, to assure the continued implementation and rigorous observance and oversight of the strictest standards in order to keep our sport clean,” Grilk said. “We already have severe and defined penalties, but the Rita Jeptoo case has brought to light the need to work further in that regard to ensure our sport.”
Recently, the Boston Marathon and the five other members of the Abbott World Marathon Majors group announced joint financial support for a new testing facility to be set up in East Africa, most likely in Kenya. Last week, Athletics Kenya president Isaiah Kiplagat confirmed formation of a Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya and named 1988 Olympic silver medalist Douglas Wakiihuri among its overseeing members.
“We want strict testing,” Grilk said. “We look to do more, and we’re not ready to announce what those steps are, but we want to make sure that we are strong and that the testing can be fairly implemented.”
By virtue of victories at Boston and Chicago, where she successfully defended her crown in October, Jeptoo clinched the World Marathon Majors series prize package worth $500,000. That money is being withheld pending her appeals. Jeptoo also received $150,000 for winning April’s Boston Marathon, plus an additional bonus of $25,000 for a setting a course record time of 2:18.57. The BAA would have the option to try and recoup those funds through legal channels if her appeals fail.
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