The winner of the 2021 Boston Marathon, Diana Kipyokei, was suspended on Friday after testing positive for doping at the race and allegedly obstructing an investigation.
Track and field's Athletics Integrity Unit said Kipyokei's
sample after winning in Boston in October last year had traces of triamcinolone
acetonide. It is a glucocorticoid prohibited at races when an athlete does not
have permission to use it as a medication.
The case has deepened suspicions the substance is a doping
product of choice for athletes from Kenya.
The AIU said 10 Kenyans have tested positive for
triamcinolone since the start of 2021, with only two cases in track and field
from the entire rest of the world in the same period.
In a second triamcinolone case revealed 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 through the provision of false information
or documentation."
The AIU did not specify more details of the suspected
tampering by the 28-year-old Kipyokei, who faces being banned for at least four
years.
Kipyokei won the women's race in Boston in a time of 2
hours, 24 minutes, 45 seconds.
"In the event that the alleged violation for the
presence of a prohibited substance is proven, Kipyokei would be disqualified as
the winner of the 2021 Boston Marathon," the AIU said.
Her career best time is 2:22:06 in Istanbul in 2020.
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