Diana Kipyokei set to be stripped of Boston Marathon title in doping case

Kenyan Diana Kipyokei‘s 2021 Boston Marathon victory is in line to be stripped after she was provisionally suspended in a doping case.

Kipyokei, 28, and another Kenyan distance runner, Betty Wilson Lempus, were banned by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), which handles doping cases in track and field.

Each runner tested positive last year for the same banned substance — metabolites of triamcinolone acetonide (a corticosteroid) — and faces charges for possible tampering with the doping control process, which includes obstructing or delaying an investigation into the positive test, such as giving false information or documentation.

Kipyokei’s positive test came at the Boston Marathon that she won last October. Both the AIU and the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) said she will be stripped of her title should her case not be overturned on appeal.

Kipyokei won in 2:24:45, beating countrywoman Edna Kiplagat by 24 seconds. Kiplagat, then 41, is now in line to be upgraded to champion, which would make her the oldest runner to win the Boston Marathon in its history dating to 1897.

Kipyokei has not competed since winning Boston, according to her World Athletics profile. Boston was her first major marathon start and her third marathon overall.

Ten Kenyans have tested positive for triamcinolone acetonide in the last two years versus two among all other nations in the same time frame, according to the AIU.

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Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir withdrew from defending her New York City Marathon title on Nov. 6, citing an unspecified injury.

Keira D’Amato, the second-fastest American female marathoner in history, was also added to the field in Friday’s announcement.

Jepchirchir, 29, is the