Diana Kipyokei Could Lose 2021 Boston Marathon Title over Use of Banned Substance

Diana Kipyokei, winner of the 2021 Boston Marathon, could be stripped of her victory after she was alleged to have used a banned substance.

The Athletics Integrity Unit announced Friday that it had found triamcinolone acetonide in samples provided by Kipyokei and fellow marathon runner Betty Wilson Lempus. Both runners were also charged with "obstructing or delaying the AIU’s investigation through the provision of false information or documentation."

Kipyokei and Lempus have been provisionally suspended and charged with "with various breaches of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules."

The sample provided by Kipyokei was taken following her victory in the Boston Marathon last October.

According to ESPN.com, triamcinolone acetonide is a substance "prohibited in competition when administered in certain ways, falls under the banned category of glucocorticoids, commonly used as therapeutic substances in sports."

Its use can be permitted in certain circumstances if the competitor is able to "produce an exemption or proof that administration is not through a prohibited route," per ESPN.

Kipyokei was the top women's finisher with a time of 2:24:45. She finished 24 seconds ahead of runner-up Edna Kiplagat.

Lempus had a sample taken after her victory at the Harmonie Mutuelle Semi de Paris in September 2021.

If Kipyokei's win is overturned, she will be the first women's runner stripped of victory at the Boston Marathon since 2014.

Rita Jeptoo, who also won the Chicago Marathon in 2014, had both of her wins scrubbed in 2016 after the Court of Arbitration for Sport handed down a four-year suspension after testing positive for a red blood cell-boosting injected hormone.