http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/01/sports/marathon-champion-rita-jeptoo-fails-doping-test.html 2014-10-31 18:00:33 Marathon Champion Rita Jeptoo Fails Doping Test The winner of the Boston and Chicago marathons the past two years, Jeptoo may lose her World Marathon Majors title after testing positive for a banned substance. === Rita Jeptoo, winner of the Boston and Chicago marathons the past two years, Jeptoo, a 33-year-old Kenyan, had positive test on an A sample, but under antidoping rules, a second sample must come back positive for a banned substance for her to be found guilty of a doping violation by the international track and field federation. The World Marathon Majors is a series of races in Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York, which offers a $1 million purse split between a male and female runner at the end of a two-year cycle. Jeptoo was to fly to New York to be awarded the $500,000 prize for capturing the women’s World Marathon Majors title, as she led with 100 points, 35 points higher than Edna Kiplagat, also of Kenya. The ceremony, which was to take place Sunday at the conclusion of the Formal sanctions would be levied by the international governing body, the I.A.A.F., which has not yet announced the doping violation or any potential ban. The World Marathon Majors “has always held a stern line on drugs cheats,” said Nick Bitel, general counsel of the group, in a statement Friday, “and has been proactively supporting the sports governing bodies to ensure the integrity of the athletes competing in their races. Cheats need to understand that they are not welcome in our sport and that they will be caught.” The news was first reported by Kenyan runners have garnered even more attention, positive and negative, in recent years. In September, Dennis Kimetto of Kenya ran 2 hours 2 minutes 57 seconds at the Berlin Marathon, making him the first person to run 26.2 miles faster than 2:03 and shattered the world record by 26 seconds. But a recent Anti-Doping Task Force report criticized Kenyan sporting officials for what it said were lax efforts on catching athletes using banned substances. In a three-year period, as many as 32 athletes tested positive for banned substances, the report said. This month, officials with the World Anti-Doping Agency met with Kenyan officials about improving its antidoping organization. Earlier this month, Jeptoo defended her Chicago Marathon title, running the race in 2 hours 24 minutes 35 seconds. She has won the A representative for Jeptoo did not immediately respond to request for comment. Many of the elite runners in Sunday’s New York City Marathon heard about Jeptoo’s positive doping test on their way to or at a scheduled news conference Friday. Most athletes were reluctant to discuss doping culture, or the controversy unfolding around one of their top rivals. Should Jeptoo’s B sample come back positive, Kiplagat would lead the World Marathon Majors standings. Kiplagat, who is running in New York on Sunday, said she needed more information before commenting, having just learned of Jeptoo’s positive A sample. She said the chance to win the World Marathon Majors prize would not affect her race. “I’m going to run my best,” she said.