Dn an article in the Voix du Nord, we learn that Ruth Chepngetich has been at the heart of a controversy since she broke the women’s world record in the marathon this Sunday in Chicago.
Two hours, nine minutes and fifty-six seconds: Sunday at the Chicago Marathon, Ruth Chepngetich became the first woman to go under 2h10 in a marathon. The Kenyan’s time is almost two minutes lower than that of Tigst Assefa, who had already improved the world record by two minutes during the 2023 Berlin marathon.
A few hours after this exceptional performance, northern runner Abderrazak Charik – who has a marathon record of 2h08:37 – made a rant on his social networks. “There comes a time when we have to stop this charade. It’s always the same ones who take charge and they are never stopped because this world is controlled like by money (sic),” he wrote in a story. “You hurt your face every day in training, meanwhile this is what’s happening next door,” he lamented.
“People need to talk…”
Sunday in Chicago, Ruth Chepngetich exploded her personal best by more than four minutes. And all this without a coach, since the new world record holder, who ran the last four editions of the Chicago marathon, trains alone. She indicated this at a press conference on Sunday. Asked about doubts surrounding her performance, she simply replied: “People need to talk…”
For Christelle Daunay, former French marathon record holder, “there will always be doubts about all performances”. “There are always suspicions, of course. Especially when there are 2-3 minutes less on a world record, which is already high,” she estimated in The Teampointing out however that anti-doping controls were carried out. “The hunt is also done, and there would not be as many Kenyans caught if there were not these controls. »
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Efforts since 2016
In 2016, Kenya was declared non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s anti-doping code, a few months before the Rio Olympics.
Investments have since been made by the country’s authorities, which have also created a national anti-doping agency. Between 2021 and 2024, 78 athletes were sanctioned. Since 2023, the Kenyan anti-doping agency has been supported by an employee of the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), who participates in the development and regulation of an anti-doping program. “We have multiplied by six the number of tests in Kenya, the number of athletes we watch. It’s simple, if you look, you will always find,” said the person concerned, Raphaël Roux, in June in The Team.
No tests since July in Kenya
The effort of the Kenyan authorities was highlighted by Jimmy Gressier. “There are also other countries which should do the same work as what the Kenyan federation has been doing lately,” declared the Northerner last summer.
But less than a month ago, ADAK announced that it had halted all testing since July due to budget cuts.
While it hoped to receive 288 million shillings (2.04 million euros), ADAK only received 20 million shillings from the government (142,000 euros), approximately 14 times less. A big brake that is unlikely to stop the machine of suspicion.
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