Nairobi: Top Kenyan female marathon runner Rita Jeptoo has been handed a two-year ban after being caught doping with the banned blood-boosting hormone EPO, officials said Friday.
The ban, announced by the local governing body Athletics Kenya, is 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.
“Rita Jeptoo has been banned for two years, effective from 30th October 2014 to 29th October 2016, following the results of the A and B samples which showed she had used the prohibited substance EPO,” Athletics Kenya’s chief executive Isaac Mwangi told AFP.
Jeptoo has already been denied the $500,000 (Dh1.8 million) 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 1st this year now face a mandatory four-year ban.
