Green Line-Beating Runner Stripped of Boston Marathon Title

Photo via AP

In 2014, Rita Jeptoo cemented her place in modern-day Boston Marathon lore by outrunning the Green Line—and cruising to a new course record.

As it turns out, though, Jeptoo’s performance may have been more in the spirit of Rosie Ruiz than Bobbie Gibb. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Wednesday stripped the Kenyan runner of her 2014 title, amidst a continuing doping scandal.

Jeptoo had previously received a two-year ban after testing positive for the illicit substance EPO, a punishment that was set to expire this week. In its latest ruling, the CAS decided to extend that ban for another two years, and to reclaim any titles and prize money Jeptoo won after April 17, 2014, including her 2014 Chicago Marathon victory. Jeptoo also won the Boston Marathon in 2006 and 2013.

“It was obvious to the Panel that the athlete used rEPO as part of a scheme or plan,” reads the CAS ruling. “The evidence for this includes inter alia her long relationship with the doctor in question, her multiple visits to see him, that her rEPO use was consistent with her competition calendar, that she hid the visits to the doctor in question from her manager and coach, as well as her deceptive and obstructive conduct throughout the proceedings.”

Numerous Kenyan runners have been accused or found guilty of doping of late, a controversy that carried over to the Rio Olympics.

Jeptoo’s Green Line-smoking performance may be tainted, but we can all take solace in a group of runners who did the same thing back in the summer of 2014. May they always remind us just how slow the B Line really is.