FILE PHOTO: Purity Rionoripo of Kenya crosses the finish line to win the womens race of the 41st Paris Marathon in Paris, France, April 9, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
(Reuters) -Kenya's Diana Kipyokei has been disqualified as the 2021 Boston Marathon women's winner after being handed a six-year ban for using the prohibited substance triamcinolone acetonide, the Athletics Integrity United (AIU) said on Tuesday.
Compatriot Purity Rionoripo, the 2017 Paris Marathon winner, has been banned for five years after testing positive for the banned diuretic furosemide and along with Kipyokei was found to have hampered the AIU's investigation by providing false information or documentation.
Fellow Kenyan Betty Wilson Lempus has been charged with the presence of triamcinolone acetonide. She remains provisionally suspended.
"(We will use) the full extent of our intelligence and investigative capabilities to uncover the truth and keep the sport of athletics clean," AIU head Brett Clothier said.
The Boston Athletic Association said that in view of Kipyokei's ban, Kenya's Edna Kiplagat is now the 2021 champion. Kiplagat also won the race in 2017.
Three other Kenyan runners were banned separately on Monday. As of the end of November, 55 Kenyan athletes were banned and eight provisionally suspended, according to the AIU.
Triamcinolone acetonide, a substance prohibited in competition when administered in certain ways, falls under the banned category of glucocorticoids, commonly used as therapeutic substances in sports.
Their use is permitted if athletes can produce an exemption or proof that administration is not through a prohibited route.
Furosemide is not known to be performance enhancing itself, but can be used to mask the use of other kinds of doping, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Kipyokei's sample was taken after her victory in Boston last October. Her ban has been backdated to June 27 this year, when the AIU provisionally suspended her, and her results have been disqualified back to and including Oct. 11, 2021.
The AIU said Kipyokei, 28, "provided false/misleading information in trying to explain her AAF (Adverse Analytical Finding), including fake documentation which she alleged came from a hospital."
Furosemide was found in Rionoripo's urine in an out-of-competition test on May 30 in Kenya, the AIU said.
Rionoripo, 29, said she was prescribed medication to treat an ankle injury and presented supporting documentation but the AIU said its investigations revealed she had altered her prescription form to include Lasix, the commercial name for furosemide.
Lempus, 31, was tested following her win at the Harmonie Mutuelle Semi de Paris in September last year.
Kenya ranked third in the athletics medal haul at last year's Tokyo Olympics but has faced accusations of widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs for years.
The Kenyan government has pledged to commit $5 million a year over the next five years to aid anti-doping efforts, including more tests, investigations and improvements to anti-doping education.
"(It) is a crucial first step and has the potential to be a game changer because it will ensure ADAK (the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya) and Athletics Kenya have proportionate resources to play their part in the fight against doping," Clothier said.
Athletics Kenya, the ADAK, and Kenya's minister for sports Ababu Namwamba did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Alison Williams and Hugh Lawson)
