Monaco –
Boston Marathon winner Diana Kipyokei of Kenya was suspended on Friday after testing positive for doping at the race and allegedly obstructing an investigation.
The Athletics Integrity Unit said Kipyokei’s sample after winning last October had traces of triamcinolone acetonide. It’s a glucocorticoid that’s banned in races unless an athlete has permission to use it as a drug.
The case has deepened suspicions that the substance is a drug of choice for Kenyan athletes.
The AIU said 10 Kenyans have tested positive for triamcinolone since early 2021, with just two cases in athletics from across the rest of the world in the same period.
In a second triamcinolone case uncovered on Friday, Kenyan marathon runner Betty Wilson Lempus was also suspended while under investigation for doping and tampering.
Kipyokei is also under investigation for “obstructing or delaying the AIU’s investigation by providing false information or documentation.”
The AIU did not elaborate on the alleged tampering, which could be related to a TUE (therapeutic use exemption) document that athletes must have before using a drug that is otherwise prohibited.
The 28-year-old Kipyokei faces a minimum four-year ban and the loss of her Boston win and $150,000 prize.
“Kipyokei’s result at the 2021 Boston Marathon is being disqualified pending the completion of the appropriate athlete grievance procedures,” the race’s organizer, the Boston Athletic Association, said in a statement. “The BAA will adjust race rankings and offer award adjustments to the top finishers of the 2021 event pending approval.”
Kipyokei won the Boston women’s race in 2 hours, 24 minutes and 45 seconds, which was 24 seconds ahead of her Kenyan compatriot Edna Kiplagat
Kiplagat, a two-time world marathon champion who turns 43 next month, will claim her second Boston title. She also won in 2017.
A high-profile case of an athlete who had a valid TUE for triamcinolone involved British cyclist Bradley Wiggins, who was allowed to take it in 2012 before winning the Tour de France.