Things aren’t looking good for three-time Boston Marathon winner Rita Jeptoo.
Jeptoo’s “B” sample tested positive Friday, confirming the runner’s positive “A” sample for the performance-enhancing drug EPO. Jeptoo’s “A” sample came up positive on Sept. 25, two weeks before she won the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 12.
Tests of the 33-year-old Kenyan’s “B” sample were conducted at the World Anti-Doping Agency lab by Athletics Kenya between Wednesday and Friday. The federation will hold a hearing on Jeptoo’s case in early January.
Jeptoo won the 118th running of the Boston Marathon with a time of 2:18:57, a new women’s record. After winning in Chicago, she clinched first place in the World Marathon Majors series and was set to receive a $500,000 prize. After her “A” sample came up positive, however, the award ceremony was called off.
If Jeptoo is disqualified from the series, she could face a competitive ban of at least two years.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
