Rita Jeptoo
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Rita Jeptoo (born 15 February 1981) is a Kenyan marathon runner. Along with winning the
Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...
on two occasions, she has also won marathons in Chicago, Stockholm, and Milan. Jeptoo. Jeptoo was the bronze medalist at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships representing Kenya. In 2014, Jeptoo received a two-year competition doping ban, which was later increased to four years, after testing positive for EPO in an out-of-competition test on 25 September 2014.


Career

Jeptoo won the 2004
Stockholm Marathon The Stockholm Marathon, known as the adidas Stockholm Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon arranged in Stockholm, Sweden, since 1979. It serves as the Swedish marathon championship race. At the 2009 Stockholm Marathon more tha ...
, her first marathon race, and then took a consecutive victory at the
Milan Marathon The Milano City Marathon is a marathon race held every April in Milan, Italy. It was first organised in 2000 by the Milano City Marathon Club and the first nine editions were held in November. History The 2009 edition of the race, initially set ...
. She finished third in the 2005 Turin Marathon and seventh at the 2005 World Championships. In 2006, she set a personal best time of 2:23:38 winning the
Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...
, she took the title at the Paris Half Marathon, she won the
bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...
at the 2006 World Road Running Championships, she was fourth at the
New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 fini ...
that same year. In 2007, she finished fourth in Boston, attempting to defend her title, and was quoted as saying, "I never felt good in the cold. I couldn't get my body in a rhythm." She won the
Lisbon Half Marathon EDP Lisbon Half Marathon is an annual international half marathon competition which is contested every March in Lisbon, Portugal. It carries IAAF Gold Label Road Race status. The men's course record of 57:31 was set by Jacob Kiplimo in 2021, which ...
that year, later going on to take seventh place in the marathon at the
2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member feder ...
. She ended her 2007 with a new course record at the
Obudu Ranch International Mountain Race The Obudu Ranch International Mountain Race is an annual 11.25 km mountain running competition that takes place in late November in Obudu, Cross River State, Nigeria. First held in 2005, it has the largest total prize money available of any mo ...
, earning US$50,000 as a result. She won the Portugal Half Marathon in 2008. She was among the leading runners at the Boston and New York marathons that season, finishing third and fourth respectively. She took time off from running for
maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave ...
from late 2008 onwards, returning to competition in 2011. The
Rotterdam Marathon The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded NN Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April every year since the third edition in 1984 and attracts many top athletes. ...
was her return marathon outing and she came fifth with a time of 2:28:09 hours. She ran her fastest marathon time since 2005 at the
Frankfurt Marathon The Frankfurt Marathon (official name as of 2016: Mainova Frankfurt Marathon, until 2015: BMW Frankfurt Marathon, until 2010: Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon) is a marathon which has taken place every year in Frankfurt am Main since its inception i ...
, taking fifth place after 2:25:44 hours. Returning to the site of her 2006 win, she came sixth at the 2012 Boston Marathon. She came fourth at the Beach to Beacon 10K and
Falmouth Road Race The Falmouth Road Race is an annual road race on Cape Cod from Woods Hole, a village in the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, to Falmouth Heights. The race organizer is Falmouth Road Race, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization that puts on the race ea ...
, but delivered her best performance in half a decade at the 2012 Chicago Marathon. A tight duel with Atsede Baysa in the latter stages of the race resulted in her narrowly finishing as runner-up, but her time of 2:22:04 hours knocked over a minute and half off her six-year-old personal best. The 2013
RAK Half Marathon Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is an annual half marathon held on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. History The first event, in 2007, saw Samuel Wanjiru breaking the list of world records in athletics, world record, but Wanj ...
was so fast that Jeptoo improved her best to 66:27 minutes—making her the fifth fastest ever—but left her in third place in the race. In 2013, she won both the
Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...
in a time of 2:26:25, and the
Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a road marathon held in October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the seven World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is one of the largest races by number of fini ...
in a time of 2:19:57 (personal best). Jeptoo participated in the Boston Marathon in 2014 and was initially recorded as the winner. However, following her doping ban she was disqualified and stripped of the title and course record.


Doping case

Jeptoo defended her Chicago Marathon title in 2014, winning with a time of 2:24:35. However, she had a positive doping test in her "A" sample, given in Kenya two weeks before the race. Her agent
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, a prominent name in elite marathon running, confirmed the fact but refused to reveal the responsible substance. It was later revealed that the prohibited substance was EPO, and she was banned for two years by
Athletics Kenya Athletics Kenya (AK) is the governing body for the sport of athletics (track and field) in Kenya. It is a member of World Athletics and Confederation of African Athletics. AK organises athletics competitions held in Kenya. It also sends Kenyan tea ...
. On 21 April 2015, the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...
announced it had received two separate appeals pertaining to the ban. One, from Jeptoo, asked that the challenged decision be set aside, and the two-year suspension be lifted. The second was from the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), who requested that Jeptoo's ban be increased to four years, due to "...aggravating circumstances which it argues warrant an extended period of ineligibility." The Court in its statement announced that both appeals were currently in progress, with no decision date given. On 26 October 2016, the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...
upheld an appeal from the IAAF against the leniency of the two-year ban given by Athletics Kenya, and instead set a four-year ban, and the annulling of all results after 17 April 2014, including her wins in the 2014 Boston and
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marathons, citing "her deceptive and obstructive conduct throughout the proceedings" as aggravating factors justifying the maximum penalty.


Personal life

She is married to Noah Busienei, a middle distance runner.


Achievements


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeptoo, Rita 1981 births Living people Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female marathon runners Athletes from Uasin Gishu County World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya Boston Marathon female winners Doping cases in athletics Kenyan sportspeople in doping cases Chicago Marathon female winners 21st-century Kenyan sportswomen